


Ash Ketchum IC2- The T Triple O's Almightiest Pokemon Master

by FSAppaneestyUOZC99999999Supremum



Series: Ash IC2 Saga [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Harems, Multi, Omnipotence, Open Marriage, Open Relationships, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romantic Fluff, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 60,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23218954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FSAppaneestyUOZC99999999Supremum/pseuds/FSAppaneestyUOZC99999999Supremum
Summary: Having grown tremendously as a Trainer and a psychic over the past 4-years; Yellow thought she'd seen it all and was ready to profess her longtime crush on Red. However, the arrival of a strange man with a minor resemblance to Red is about to turn her world upside down, and thrust the Dexholders into a situation far more dangerous than any they'd ever faced before.
Relationships: Ash Ketchum/Female Dexholders, Ash Ketchum/Multi, Yellow/Ash Ketchum, Yellow/OC
Series: Ash IC2 Saga [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1669369
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter One: Ordinary Days, Extraordinary People

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nor do I make any profit off this whatsoever._

_Description: Having grown tremendously as a Trainer and a psychic over the past 4-years; Yellow thought she'd seen it all and was ready to profess her longtime crush on Red. However, the arrival of a strange man with a minor resemblance to Red is about to turn her world upside down, and thrust the Dexholders into a situation far more dangerous than any they'd ever faced before. They soon learn their 'Traveler' is more removed from his counterpart Red than they could've imagined._

Chapter One: Ordinary Days, Extraordinary People

"Pika, Nasty Plot into Megavolt." A male voice ordered, emanating from a battlefield in the Viridian City gym as a yellow mouse-like Pokémon vaulted forward towards his opponent. Red stood by confidently while the Pikachu's Nasty Plot boosts took effect, his Special Attack heightening considerably just in time for him to launch a massive yellow tower of lightning at least 10x more powerful than the average Thunderbolt. With Nasty Plot used in combination, Pika's Megavolt technique was through the roof in terms of power.

Red was currently 20-years-old, with jet black hair obscured by his signature red and white hat and red-eyes that were probably the reason for his name. He was known throughout the world as the battler, and was once the Champion of Kanto; he was also something of a leader among his fellow Dexholders. His Pikachu's Megavolt technique was a supercharged move he and Pika mastered compliments of their current opponent, who singlehandedly developed the technique by calling upon the power of Viridian Forest during a crucial battle with Lance of the Elite Four. The strength of the attack had allowed Lugia to absorb enough energy to revitalize the land of Kanto, and even to this day the Kanto Region was still thriving; all thanks to the special powers of a then 11-year-old girl.

"Chuchu, use Extremespeed to dodge, then Double-Team into Dig." Instructed his opponent, the Healer of the Dexholders known affectionately to all of them as Yellow. She was a petite young woman wearing her long golden hair down in a loose ponytail; her pure gold eyes glittering with excitement and a strong desire to win. She wore a yellow dress with green trim overtop her black long-sleeve tee-shirt, and her straw sun hat was lying on the floor of the Viridian City battling gym off to the side, ready for her to put back on when the battling was done.

She'd long since gotten out of the habit of trying to hide her gender from people, since her transformation from a little girl into a young woman of subtle yet stunning beauty; it just didn't work as well for her as it once did. The once small Yellow was all grown up now, yet Red never seemed to notice much to her endless frustration. He was all hung up on Blue; leaving Yellow with a heart filled with unreciprocated love and an endless reservoir of fight in her. She was going to fight for him, and do everything in her power to make him notice her more.

She thought about the advice Green had given her after he made Red and Blue's crushes on each other clear, that Red was a man of action who loved Pokémon and battling until the bitter end. He got Yellow thinking that maybe if she could show Red how good her battling skills had gotten recently, if she could best one of the number one Trainers on the planet… then he'd start to see her as the woman she now was, and not as that same little girl he rescued in Viridian Forest all those years-ago.

It was good advice; in theory… the only problem was she still wasn't strong enough. She and her Pokémon worked hard for this, and she'd even flown by with the excuse that she wanted to help protect the world by getting stronger, so nobody would tease her about her feelings. But even with all her improvements as both a Trainer and a Viridian Forest-borne Psychic, and despite being able to fight even though she didn't like seeing her Pokémon get hurt; she wasn't strong enough for him. She was never strong enough for him.

Her feelings poured through in her synergetic bond with Chuchu as the Pikachu dashed off in a whirl of speed that kicked up a microburst air current, using her speed to confound and disorient Pika before forming speed mirages, all of which burrowed underground at the same time. Yellow had to smile at her own improved ingenuity as a Trainer. She'd learned a lot from watching Red partake in various battles against the likes of Green at his Gym. She'd even gotten better at dealing with her Pokémon or her opponents' getting hurt, though that was still something she preferred to minimize at all costs. He, Gold, and Blue seemed to be some of the only Trainers capable of holding their own against Red; who remained the ever-quintessential hero in Yellow's eyes. If only he recognized her feelings for what they were; she was getting desperate at this point as Red grew a smirk.

"Use Iron Tail on the ground, then wrap this up with Focus Punch." Red commanded Pika. The male Pikachu gave Yellow an apologetic look before following his Trainer's instructions, jumping up above the stadium and driving an Iron Tail attack straight into the ground. Yellow gasped as the sheer force of the attack upheaved the entire gym's battle terrain and catapulted Chuchu into the air with a cry of surprise. Yellow could only watch as her opponent's Pikachu's tiny fist glowed with a concentrated amount of pure Fighting-type power before delivering a full powered Focus Punch into Chuchu's gut, sending her crashing down to the uneven ground with meteoric impact.

Yellow winced at the collision of her Pikachu with the ground, closing her eyes and flinching away while blinking back tears at the thought of losing yet another battle. She didn't need to see past the dust kicked up from the impact to sense Chuchu was down for the count; her psychic powers did that for her and filled any gaps her imagination might've had. She still hated seeing Pokémon getting hurt, either by Trainers or other Pokémon; but she hated not being strong enough for Red even more. According to Green, Red was the kind of person who admired strength in another person above all else; a girl who was able to hold her own on the battlefield.

He truly was a fighter who adored strong opponents, and that likely carried over into his love life as well. In simpler terms, Yellow knew she'd need to be a match for him; to be able to beat him in battle as often as he did her. But she didn't beat him so much as one time, and it was beginning to exhaust her. At this rate, she'd never be strong enough to beat him without using her powers or cheating in some other manner. She wanted to be a strong enough Trainer to defeat him without the boosts she could give her Pokémon; to raise her team the right and proper way, but even after all these years, her Pokémon's levels were still only in the mid-high 80s, whereas most if not all of Red's were 100. Still, compared to how she'd been when she started out; she was overjoyed by how far she'd come… she just wished raising her Pokémon to the toughest level didn't take so bloody long. How Red had done that was beyond her.

Every sparring match she had with her fellow Dexholders made her and her Pokémon just a little bit stronger. It was all the better to protect the world, but Yellow would've been lying if she said she didn't have ulterior motives. She only hoped she managed to impress Red in this bout; given that she'd won against his Aerodactyl Aero using Ratty the Raticate's Super Fang and Hyper Fang in combination, and battled his Saur to a draw with a well-aimed Fissure from her Golem, Golosk. One single Belly Drum allowed his Poli the Poliwrath to almost single-handedly sweep her entire team with either Focus Punches or Waterfall attacks.

If it hadn't been for Chuchu knocking him out with a well-placed Thunderbolt, he would've, but Yellow was still down to her last Pokémon. She had been surprised and more than a little impressed that Red had taught his Starter Pokémon Belly Drum; the only thing she didn't care much for was it depleted a Pokémon's battle health to max their attack. She didn't much care for moves that hurt her Pokémon by design, but she was still impressed by the results. Still, she had been able to expose Belly Drum's one weakness with the power of a strong electric attack, but Red had all but wiped the floor with Chuchu in the end. Yellow wanted to give herself a pat on the back for doing better than she ever did against him, but she wasn't going to win his affections unless she beat him at least once.

She scooped Chuchu up in her arms as the dust settled and Red congratulated Pika on a job well done before returning him. He was grinning like a madman, unable to believe how far Yellow had come along and how much work she'd been putting into her training in recent years. The girl was like a machine, all but demanding a battle with him practically every other week after grinding in Viridian Forest for the first two weeks. He smiled fondly at his friend as she gave her Pikachu a loving pat and healed him with another impressive display with her psychic powers.

"You take a good long rest, you've earned it Chuchu." Yellow whispered to her lovingly as Red made his way over to her side of the battlefield while Green stood by with a shake of his head.

"You did well Yellow. You've grown tremendously as a Trainer these past years, and your psychic powers are showing vast improvement as well." Red praised her, not missing the blush that came over her face when he said this and wishing he felt the same way. It would've made things easier on them both if he could muster up anything other than older brother feelings for Yellow, but apparently, a long overdue discussion was in order.

"Thanks Red. My Pokémon gave it everything they had. Will you take us on again when I've had time to rest and train my team some more?" Yellow requested, smiling sweetly at him. Red was amazed by this girl's tenacity. She showed a truly single-minded determination when she set her heart on achieving something. She was also a little spitfire, and while sweet most days; she could be a truly terrifying force to deal with if you threatened her hometown or her friends.

It amazed him to think about how much ass such a small individual could kick when the right buttons were pressed. Yellow's lingering crush on him had not gone unnoticed, Red could be dense but not to the point of stupidity. He hated having to be the one to let her down easy, but ever since Green told him Blue was interested he couldn't get her out of his head. Green even said he should go for it, but that he might want to wait a while and see if he felt anything for Yellow first. The thought that his former arch rival was playing matchmaker in his love-life made Red want to tease the man mercilessly, but he realized it wasn't Green who was caught in this uncomfortable love triangle right now and that meant the infamous Battler would have to make some tough choices in the coming days.

' _She really likes you man, maybe if you stopped and really looked at her for a sec, you'd realize that Yellow has actually grown into a gorgeous young woman. If you weren't so hot for Blue this wouldn't even be an issue, but I worry what your rejection is going to do to the poor girl's confidence. I tried inspiring her to be a better battler for you dude and look how that's turning out_.' Green had confided in him one day, and while Red could admit that Yellow was adorable and much cuter now, it still didn't do anything for him.

If things didn't start happening soon, he was going to need to have the one talk nobody wanted their crushes to have with them. He hated having to reject Yellow, but he couldn't force himself into a loveless relationship just because it made her happy. Love was a compromise and true love was always mutual between the couple in question. And besides, Red had it on good authority ( _cough_ Green _cough_ ) that Blue liked him as well, and unfortunately for Yellow; Blue got his motor running.

She'd come a long way from the thief who'd operated under the Mask of Ice, and was well on her way to becoming a true champion in her own right. Red couldn't help admiring a woman who struggled and fought all their life only to come out the other side a hero; because, even after all the hell she went through in her traumatic childhood, Blue still had the courage to do the right thing when it counted. A part of him wished he could have it both ways, that he could have feelings for both girls and have some sort of agreement between them to share or something, but Blue was the one he wanted to be with.

Upon seeing Yellow's expectant gaze, Red ended his train of thoughts and responded to her earlier request. "Of course, you can battle me again Yellow. Like I said, I'll take you or anybody else on, anywhere, anytime." Red promised her, watching her nod with an adoring smile on her face that made Red feel bad about what he would have to say next. Fortunately, or perhaps not so fortunately, he was saved having to say anything for now by Green piping up.

"If that's true, then why do you two insist on making my gym a goddamn mess every time you battle it out?" He criticized Red who sweat dropped.

"Well um, you see Green… your gym is the closest to us both and I guess it's just convenient for us to meet up for our biweekly battles here." Red explained while Green huffed before waving it off with a chuckle.

"If it's important to Yellow, then it's no big deal to me." He rationalized.

"Biweekly? Am I really that consistent Red?" Yellow shyly asked, in a voice barely above a whisper, and Red chuckled.

"Yep. So far, you've trained every day in the Viridian Forest into all hours of the afternoon, for two weeks straight, only to call me up on my Pokegear to request a battle the Monday two after the one we last battled on. Yeah, you're very consistent Yellow, and I'm actually surprised you're willing to use the forest as your training grounds. I guess that must mean it's fully healed, am I right." Red teased; a slight awkwardness in his laughter upon realizing it was now or never.

"Oh, I almost forgot Red… gramps needed you for something back in Pallet Town; said there's been strange storm clouds brewing up over the Sevii Islands freakishly fast, with oddly colored lightning bolts." Green interjected before Red could get a word in edgewise for the second time. Upon catching his rival's eye, he saw an expression on Green's face that said… _Are you mad?! You don't reject a girl in this fashion! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, there's a time and a place man_!

Upon interpreting the look, Red got the memo and gave an over-exaggerated stretch of his arms. "Well, I'm beat… gonna head home and see what the Professor can tell me about these storms. So, I'll see you in two weeks then Yellow?" He asked her with a kind smile, watching uncomfortably as she blushed at his simplest gesture. ' _Damn, Green was right… she really does have it bad for me. I wish I would've noticed sooner, but I was too wrapped in my feelings for Blue and now it's too late for that_.' He added internally, caught on what to do and almost relieved when Yellow didn't bring her feelings to the forefront.

"S…sure, see you then Red, and if you wind up going on another errand for the Professor… please, be careful. I'll be right here if you need my help with anything." Yellow softly told him, sounding genuinely concerned. Red nodded with a reassuring smile and ran out of the gym as quickly as he could, knowing he'd have to acknowledge Yellow's obvious crush on him eventually, but relieved that day didn't have to be today.

Yellow waited until after he was gone and sank to the ground in defeat, barely aware of Green walking over to her with a sympathetic smile on his face. "I couldn't do it. No matter how much I like him; I can never get up the courage to tell him how I feel." She sighed in endless romantic frustration, and Green nodded.

"I did try to tell you Yellow, he's into Blue big time; I know it hurts, but right now, you need to consider the idea that he's not going to have some big change of heart at this point." Green advised her sagely as Yellow refused to move from her spot, having healed all her Pokémon via her psychic powers and just wanting to go home and sleep for tonight.

"I just wish I could be strong enough for him to notice me; you said he likes stronger women, and I've been trying so hard to be somebody worthier of him." Yellow sniffed, refusing to break down and cry here; that came later when she was home alone.

"I know what I said then, blondie, believe me I do; it was the best advice I could think of for you to make a statement to him, but I also recall saying that it might not work out the way you want it too." Green reminded her gently, and when she still refused to move he lifted her chin up to meet his eyes.

"Hey, chin up there princess… so Red isn't the one; big fucking deal, it's his loss if you ask me. Just keep an open mind and heart and I promise you'll find someone wonderful to spend the rest of your life with. You've already got the looks, brains, and personality for it. So, one crush got away, there's plenty of other Goldeen in the sea Yellow. Just keep on being your awesome bubbly self, and don't let Red or anybody else get you down like this." Green passionately stated with a smile, momentarily shocked at his uncharacteristic softness, but the fact of the matter was they all adored Yellow. She was the equivalent to the Dexholders' caring sister or something, even if she was a senior to some of the other members, and Green would be lying if he said they weren't all one big family at this point.

"Thanks Green." She giggled, and Green nodded with a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders.

"Don't mention it, now get going already; I've gotta clean this place up in time for the next gym challenger." Green told her.

"No problem Green, and thanks again for everything." Yellow repeated her previous statement, before gathering herself up and checking her belt for all her Pokeballs before running out of the gym with a much happier and lighter heart. Green had made her feel better with his kind words, and he was right; if Red couldn't see the catch she'd become then maybe somebody else would. She wouldn't just immediately move on from her crush, but it was nice to know Green felt so optimistic about her ability to find someone. She knew she was stronger than this; that she could come out the other side of this scenario with her ability to love still intact.

' _But it's Red_.' Her unconscious mind reminded her, and she remembered the day when she first saw Kitty's String Shot connecting her pinkie finger with his; almost like threads of fate. Yet, despite her wanting to believe they were meant to be together; fate could be a fickle thing, and their destinies being tied together didn't inevitably mean they were in love. Besides, things changed, people and times changed, and maybe he and Yellow just weren't as written in the stars together as she first wanted to believe

"The only constant in this world is change." Yellow mused out loud as she exited the Viridian City Gym. She was surprised when she saw Red running up to her full sprint.

"Hey Yellow." He panted breathlessly once he reached her, and Yellow couldn't stop the frantic pounding of her heart when he deeply inhaled.

"Hey again Red; didn't you need to head back home to Pallet Town to see Professor Oak?" Yellow reminded him while tilting her head like a curious Mew.

"Well yeah, I was, but… I wanted to walk you home first, and there's some stuff we should probably talk about as well." Red responded in an uncharacteristically serious voice, and Yellow nodded in acceptance as she maintained a leisurely pace by his side.

"Thanks for coming with me Red; it was really nice of you." Yellow whispered gratefully as they headed to the forests at the northern end of the city.

"Not a problem, so, what are your plans for tonight?" He asked her conversationally, causing her to shrug.

"I'm thinking I might turn in early after soaking in a hot bath for an hour or so. Honestly, I'm a little tired." Yellow admitted in response. Red nodded understandingly.

"No wonder to, you just fully healed every member of your team without having to go to the Pokémon Center at all. Your powers are growing incredibly strong Yellow, and your Pokémon are really responding to that growth. Who knows, at your current rate of improvement, you could be stronger than any Trainer on earth in just a few short years. I know I'll have my work cut out for me, that's for sure." He complimented her, forcing Yellow to fight another full body blush. Did he love torturing her with his painfully sweet words, or did he just not realize the effect they were having on her?

"Thanks Red, hey… Just look at that sunset, would you?" Yellow gasped in awe as she looked up at the pinkish-gold sky and Red smiled fondly at her. She was cute, he'd give her that… and the way her eyes closed in bliss when she felt the setting sun's heat bearing down on her made his smile widen.

"Hey Red…" Yellow tentatively spoke.

"Yes Yellow." Red whispered back.

"You ever think about the future, and if we can keep up this whole 'saving the world' thing? I mean, did you ever wonder what kind of world we'd live in if you never found me in that forest one day, or if I never found the strength to try and rescue you from the Kanto Elite Four? My whole life, I've been dealing with these abilities; they've allowed me to be extremely empathetic towards Pokémon and to endow them with immense power by syncing them with my heightened emotions. I can heal their injuries and even read their emotions. This is all familiar to me, but I've never had a need for human companionship, until I met you Red.

You really came through for me in a big way back when that rampaging Dratini attacked, or when you helped me catch Ratty, and I never thought I could pay you back for that simple act of random kindness. So, when I heard you had gone missing; I was determined to do everything I could to save you. I wasn't about to miss the opportunity to save my hero from his own personal Dratini after all." Yellow giggled fondly at the comparison of her situation with Dratini and Red's when he'd been kidnapped.

"I remember how worried I was that I wasn't going to find you alive and breathing, and how relieved I was when I did; even though I was being suffocated by an Onix at the time I was so happy. I didn't realize it at the time, but I… I had become smitten with you Red." She added with shuddering relief upon realizing she'd found the strength to finally tell him how she felt at the time.

Red was frankly surprised that Yellow managed to get up the courage to admit all that, then again… he'd learned a long time ago not to underestimate her. "I'm flattered and happy you managed to say all that Yellow, and I wish I felt the same way but…" Red gulped nervously while pausing between sentences, his heart pounding with anxiety at what he had to say next as Yellow spun around to face him fully. Her look was not one of hurt or betrayal, but grudging understanding and emotional intensity, which was almost worse in Red's opinion.

"But you're in love with Blue." She finished for him, watching him intently as Red shuffled nervously on his feet.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Yellow; if I could change my feelings I would." He told her, and she turned away from him with a shake of her head.

"No, you wouldn't." She responded knowingly, her back still turned to him as he laid his hand gently on her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"No, I suppose I wouldn't huh? Yellow, I really am… sorry. Maybe if this were another lifetime or something we might've worked out, but I love Blue, and I'm always going to love Blue." Red stammered, glad he could be straightforward with her but not particularly overjoyed at the prospect of having to break her heart.

"It's okay Red." Yellow repeated, but Red shook his head.

"No, it isn't. You deserve so much better Yellow, and I know you may not believe this, but there is someone for you out there. I truly believe there is someone for everyone, you just gotta put yourself out there, you know?" He wisely stated, and Yellow giggled at his sage's wisdom.

"You know, Green told me something similar after you walked out of his gym." Yellow snickered, and she realized by that point that she and Red were going to be okay as they both shared a laugh.

"So, are we cool Yellow?" Red asked the very question Yellow answered in her own mind as she nodded with a blush and a smile.

"Yeah, we're okay. I mean, I'm not doing so hot right now, but that'll pass. Time heals all wounds Red, even if some hurts seem insurmountable." Yellow answered with some sage's wisdom of her own that made him grin from ear-to-ear.

"That's awesome Yellow; the last thing I wanted was for this discussion to negatively affect our friendship. If you ever need anything, anything at all, you just let me know alright?" Red gleefully offered her. Yellow nodded again, she seemed to be doing that a lot lately as she and Red resumed their trek up towards Viridian Forest past Route 2.

"Nothing could come between us and our friendship Red; you don't need to worry about that." Yellow promised him, and graciously thanked him for his offer as a couple of Rattata and even a few Beedrill scurried or fluttered past them.

"So, what's on your agenda for tomorrow? If all goes well for me; the storm on the Sevii Islands will pass and I'll be free to look for some battles or train with Gold and Sapphire some more. You'd be welcome to join us if you want, unless you've got some plans of your own." Red informed her questioningly as Yellow struck a thinking pose cutely.

"Thanks, but I might look for some new scenery to draw or go fishing. Taking a break might do my Pokémon and me some good." Yellow smiled joyfully, having enjoyed art and fishing ever since she could remember. She'd only gotten more serious about battling in recent years, and had come to love it as much as she did fishing and sketching.

"That's awesome, you'll have to show me what you draw or fish up when you do so." Red cheerfully responded. Yellow nodded with a closed-eye smile, feeling a surge of warmth in her chest in response to Red's kind words. He was always so supportive as a friend to her, she was starting to wonder if she needed him for anything besides. Sure, she was still crushing, still loved him… but maybe the time was approaching for her to look for her romantic match elsewhere. She'd been pining after Red for so long she never even spared any other boy a second glance.

"I'll be sure too Red, and in two weeks-time; I'd like to battle you again." Yellow informed him chirpily.

"But I thought…" Red spluttered, but Yellow interjected before he could finish.

"I'll admit my initial reason for requesting our biweekly battles was to try and impress you. But, since I started getting into battling more; I've realized that I really love working together with my Pokémon to achieve victory. I feel like I'm closer to my Pokémon every time they try to earn me that win; like there's nothing we can't do when we work together. On the battlefield, I feel so… alive and invincible that I feel like nothing's impossible, even beating a Trainer of your caliber. I know it sounds silly, but I've grown to truly love battling alongside my Pokémon, and even though it hurts them I can tell my Pokémon feel the same way; that it's a good pain. Besides, the stronger we grow together the more help we can be to you guys when the world is threatened once again.

The scary thing is that it probably will be. Every time we restore peace to the world, it always seems like a greater threat is waiting for us." She continued talking, and before she knew it… she was caught up in old memories of when the world was threatened. The situation with her rescuing Red and them all being turned to stone came to mind; plus there was the epic clash of titans between Mewtwo and Deoxys which resulted in a major crash landing and no small amount of mayhem. Things had been relatively peaceful the last couple of years, the recent incidents in Kalos with the newest line of Dexholders having taken place about two years ago, but right now only felt like the calm before the storm to some people… Yellow was one of them. Her psychic powers weren't strong enough to foresee the future, but there was a deeply unsettling feeling in her gut that festered from time to time.

"But hey, look on the bright side; every battle we fight together brings us one step closer to becoming the best versions of ourselves we can possibly be. Every fight, every enemy, every obstacle… it all just makes us stronger. For all our struggles, we gain that much more wisdom, insight, and experience." Yellow added as her own source of self-reassurance, and Red was amazed by her ability to always bounce back. She always had such optimism and an amazing ability to maintain a positive attitude; yet there was a hidden depth to her that most people would miss because she was small and younger than she looked a lot of the time.

"I agree, ultimately, I think these situations bring out the best in us." Red concurred.

They were both lost in memories and a companionable silence just as a bolt of lightning flashed and thunder boomed behind them; painting the sky a rainbow of kaleidoscopic colors before crackling with an unusually loud boom of thunder that seemed to shake the very foundations of the world. "Come on, we better get you home before that storm catches up to us." Red told her as he took her hand and began leading her up to Viridian Forest at a quicker pace.

"But Red, you'll get soaked on your way back home if you head back out in this weather. At least stay the night at my place; you can have my bed and I'll take the couch." Yellow insistently stated, not wanting Red to get caught in the storm as the raven-haired Trainer ran a little faster.

"Nonsense, I'll take the couch Yellow; if you're going to insist that I crash at your place, at least sleep in your own bed." Red rebutted, and Yellow giggled and nodded while running.

"Fine, if that's what you want." She said in acceptance.

"It is, now come on… if we move quickly enough; we might outrun the storm before it reaches us." Red proclaimed, his eyes narrowing in confusion when he saw how fast the storm was spreading. Remembering what Green said about Professor Oak wanting to discuss a weird storm system spreading over the Sevii Islands, Red wondered if this was that very same storm and if a Legendary Pokémon was responsible.

"Red, this is insane… no natural Earth storm moves that fast." Yellow panted.

"I know." Red replied in an oddly cryptic tone, feeling unnerved by the storm for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Do you think it could be Lugia, or Kyogre?" Yellow queried fearfully, not desiring another global calamity befalling them and theirs, not at all.

"I don't know, rainbow lightning flashes don't seem like either of their MO, but what do I know? This could be something else entirely, or a special ability those two have been holding out on." Red mused aloud while half-walking, half-running alongside Yellow.

Their respective reveries were interrupted by a flash of lightning bursting the ground open right in front of them, and Red wasn't ashamed to admit he screamed as loudly and as high pitched as Yellow that day. Even louder still, was the almighty clap of thunder that followed, the pure concussive force knocking them on their asses and sending them skidding away on the wet, grassy ground on their butts.

"Ow… Yellow, Yellow… are you okay?!" Red groaned while rubbing his butt.

"I… think so. That was scary!" Yellow replied, unable to believe how powerful that last jolt had been, or how close they'd come to losing their lives by it.

They looked at the spot where the lightning had struck, expecting charred ground and blackened grass and soot, but what they actually found was a lot more horrifying.

"Oh my God!" Yellow frantically shouted as she ran towards the very human, very smoking silhouette that lay in the middle of the crater left behind by the lightning strike.

Red caught her mid-stride and held her back, momentarily stunned by her astonishing strength for her size. "Yellow, hold your Horseas; that person wasn't there a split-second ago when the lightning struck in front of us and now they suddenly are. You don't find that just a little bit strange?" Red rationalized; the thought that this person could've fallen or somehow _been_ the lightning crossing his mind.

"I don't care Red, whoever they are, they're literally smoking in the middle of a lightning-struck crater and they need our help." Yellow insisted stubbornly as she managed to somehow pull away from him, making her way over to the random stranger who appeared with the lightning. Red shook his head at Yellow's naivety and kindness.

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to regret this?" He asked nobody in particular; before sighing and running to catch up to Yellow.

Getting closer to the individual, Yellow could tell it was a boy; not much older than she was by the look of him. He had an uncanny resemblance to Red, minus the choice of attire which was somehow still perfectly intact, albeit smoking, and the strange markings on his cheeks that strongly resembled the letters ZIB. He was cloaked in black battle robes that were trimmed with gold, and the abbreviation AIC2 was inscribed on the chest of his robes in every color imaginable by sentient beings; causing Yellow pause as she wondered what the acronym could stand for. Looking him over and putting questions to the back of her mind for now. She noticed he had two differently styled bracelets on each of his wrists; one of which had a small circular stone with a rainbow sideways eight melded to it like a keystone, and the other a rainbow-colored diamond about the size of her palm.

Her eyes softened with compassion as they took in his current state, his closed eyes and his smoking hot body, (that wasn't a term of endearment, it was a literal statement of fact) and she felt horrified by the prospect that he was no longer alive. She reached out to feel a pulse, and drew back with a hiss as a powerful static shock surged through her as a rainbow jet of electricity.

"Ouch!" She shouted, having drawn back sharply enough to fall onto the ground butt-first at the side of the boy just as Red caught up to her.

"You okay?" He questioned her with concern while Yellow stared at her hand, curiosity etched on her features. For a second, she could've sworn she saw her hand glowing with an iridescent light, but a split-second later and it was gone. Sometimes, she wished her psychic powers weren't such an inexact science.

"Yeah, I'm fine… just some residual static electricity coming off this guy, but he has a pulse. Frankly, I'm astounded he's still alive!" Yellow replied. The man suddenly shot upward into a sitting position with a gasp, and Yellow screamed with a horrified start as she scrambled back, her chest banging at a million miles per hour.

"Whoa, that was quite the backlash there. I knew stepping foot into my newly created set of Triple O's would have some… um… feedback, but that was quite the intense experience. This is unprecedented, as far as I know… I'm the first of my kind to have created an alternate T Triple O or set foot in one. One small step for man, and all that other junk, Oh…" the man paused mid-ramble, having been prattling on in obvious, raving deliriousness from the aftershock of the lightning strike, only to just clue into the fact that he wasn't alone.

His eyes swept over the scene with surprising swiftness, drinking it all in as his eyes fell on Red for but a moment before they landed on Yellow's. Yellow couldn't help but feel like she was being surveyed on a quintessential level; like the pair of eyes now watching her were somehow all-seeing and could see into the most fathomless depths of her inner core. She felt extremely self-conscious under the intensity of his gaze, and couldn't help but ask the obvious question.

"Um… are you okay mister?" She asked him concernedly, having been worried for his survival earlier, and now she worried about his mental stability. Clearly, the lightning had done something to his mind; because if his babbling from before was any indicator, he was clearly very out of sorts and would need time to heal. Yellow could help him with that, she was really good at healing all sorts of afflictions; she just never had to deal with a mental injury before.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" The man responded as though her question was a stupid one, looking at her in obvious confusion as Red bit back a retort on Yellow's behalf. For a second, it sounded as though he was talking to her as though she was a simpleton, but clearly he was just lost and confused… so he reined it in for now.

"Well um, you got hit by lightning dude." Red informed him gently, wondering if the bolt had scrambled his brain cells and rearranged them in the most unorderly fashion conceivable.

To their surprise, the stranger chuckled before waving off their concerns with an air of surprising nonchalance. "Oh that? Completely normal, all part of the process. Guess I can say my being here has just made the ZOF consistent in the Multi T Triple O's. Wow, can't believe that's even a thing now, but there it is; actually, I probably can believe it now that I think it through. Anyways, you two needn't be frightened on my behalf; I can assure you that lightning did little more than smack me around a little, turbulence and all that. Oh, and it may have altered the reality of your world some but that won't be a major concern for at least a couple of years. ZOF Paradigm Shifts take time to fully rewrite the realities they choose." The man commented offhandedly, and both Yellow and Red's eyes widened when his last two sentences registered in their minds; ignoring his use of acronyms they didn't understand as of yet.

"Pardon me, but did you say that lightning may have altered our reality?!" Red questioningly exclaimed in a sharp tone, not liking the sound of that one bit as Yellow tried a gentler approach.

"Why don't you come with us to my place, and I'll make us some tea while you tell us all about it, alright?" She suggested slowly and while deliberately enunciating every word, clearly still believing he was scrambled by the lightning strike. Red wanted to mentally facepalm at Yellow's innate need to see the goodness in everyone, and opted not to question her wisdom to let a total stranger into her home; it was no use arguing with the girl when she set her mind and heart on doing something. But, that didn't mean Red wouldn't watch him like a hawk. He may not have loved Yellow romantically, but he still thought of her as the little sister he never had, and thus, he was very protective of her.

The man smiled at her words of kindness, neither denying nor confirming her thoughts of him being rendered a little crazy by the fork of lightning; clearly, he was just glad she was granting him such hospitality. Yellow knew she was taking a risk, but at least Red would be there and could help her fend him off if he turned out to be a problem. She could pick up on his overprotective feelings with her powers of empathy, and wanted to huff indignantly. Had she not proven she and her Pokémon could take care of themselves? Arceus knows she didn't need to be babied now or ever again.

She appreciated his concern, but she wasn't the little girl he saved from that Dratini anymore; she'd grown tremendously as a Trainer since then and could handle anything that came her way. Still, it was nice of him to worry, and she'd be the last person to pass up the opportunity to have someone fussing over her like a member of her family should. Whatever this stranger turned out to be, she was glad at least she wouldn't have to face it alone.

XXXXX

_Long Ago, Somewhere in the Previous Trans Omni Omega Omnisphere, or T Triple O for short..._

" _This is unbelievable folks… both finalists have been brought down to their last Pokémon after what has probably been the most nail biting battle this tournament has ever seen! AIC2 has kept us on the edge of our seats in every battle he's fought, but this is the first time we've seen him put into a corner like this!" A commentator announced, his voice carrying over the stadium that only Omega Omnisphere and Triple O Champions could battle on. An entire world had been created for the sake of this tournament alone, and people from across the endless dimensions and realities had come just to bear witness to the glorious matches the competitors put on only once every endless set of endless eternities. Many traveled vast distances across time and space, either into the past or future… just to bear witness to this tournament._

_Standing on one end of the battlefield, was none other than Thomas IB himself; the first ever ZOF enhanced Double-O Champion in the history of the Omni Omega Omnisphere. His final Pokémon for this match was his Charizard Vulcan; whom he was quick to transform into his legendary X Supreme Evolution form._

" _Go Vulcan, tap into your ZOF Energies by means of Supreme Evolution." TIB commanded with a quick touch of his fingertip to the differently styled keystone. Branches of pure energy like and unlike those of Mega Evolution connected Trainer and Pokémon, as Charizard was cocooned in a blinding white light tinged with every other color in the visible spectrum; before reemerging in his ultimate form._

_Supreme Charizard X looked similar to Mega Charizard X; he was even the same duo-typing with a few cosmetic changes, as well as some changes to his ability and move-pool. He was blacker than the deepest shadows of the Omni Omega Omnisphere, and had flames that were the same iridescently-tinged white as the light that originally engulfed him to achieve this form._

" _There it is folks; the infamous X Supreme form of Charizard… now, let's see what Thomas does with Vulcan." The announcer commented in response to the cheers of the crowd. AIC2 knew Thomas Infinity's strategies well enough to know what he would do next at this point, and he concealed a grin at the thought that he had him right where he wanted him. This tournament and the major events of this Omni Omega Omnisphere was all history to him, as he came from an infinitely futuristic version of it and had conquered the Tournaments of ten thousand Omni Omega Omnispheres. Thomas IB may have had a small inkling of who he was dealing with, but only a small one at best. Sure, he may have lost in ten thousand of them as well, but he picked up a thing or two along the way. Getting his ass handed to him by another Supreme Omnidony in an unofficial match following the preliminary rounds had made him eager to step up his game. The mysterious Entity known to all naturally-born Zenith Omnidonae as TIBIB had shown himself at long last, and while battling Thomas Ash couldn't help thinking that there may have been more Supreme Omnidonae lurking in his personal future. If that was the case, maybe his own ESIT Eternal Bond Mate wasn't far off... maybe the solution lied in creating a brand new cluster of Triple O's._

" _Vulcan, use Omni Totality Wrecker on yourself!" Thomas IB commanded; a wry grin crossing his features as Charizard hastened to comply, a series of rotating discs of pure energy appearing in a frenetic, dancing formation all around him; sawing through the very fabric of the Omni Totality itself before they all sheared through the air. But, as Thomas instructed, it wasn't the opponent Vulcan targeted, but rather himself, and he barely even flinched as the Omni Omega Omnisphere distorting saw-blades of energy cut into him in a series of critical hits; creating a mass explosion comprised of energy and light._

_When he emerged from the explosion, Vulcan sent an unnerving grin to his opponent as his body was covered in a red down. "Unbelievable! Even when brought down to his last Pokémon... Thomas IB manages to go-for-broke by making use of Supreme Charizard X's vaunted Anger Point ability; in combination with the guaranteed critical hit Totality Wrecker provides._

_Vulcan has now raised his ZOF Mastery to the maximum level he can presently obtain without additional IB titles or IB title emulation powers. How will AIC2 and Arcanine counter this effect?!" The commentator shouted excitedly at the epic match to come, and the crowds roared at the top of their lungs. This Tournament was quickly shaping up to be an absolute blast, and Thomas was one of the crowd favorites to win it all and successfully defend his title as Omni Omega Omnispherical Champion. To their mild surprise however, AIC2 and his Arcanine merely smiled._

" _Thomas, before we wrap this battle up; I just want to say thank you. Out of all the tens of thousands of Triple O Tournaments I've partaken in; this one has been the absolute best by a long shot. Not only have you managed to bring me down to my last partner- something that hasn't happened to me in a very, very long time- but I got to meet the mysterious Supreme Omnidony named TIBIB whilst here and even battled him and lost when I was holding absolutely nothing back! I will treasure your Triple O's Tournament forever more and I can honestly tell you that your Omni Omega Omnisphere is in very good hands with people like you spearheading it."_

_"Unfortunately for you though, I expected you and Vulcan to go with that strategy, and while it's effective; it's also one you've used a few too many times. Arcanine, go beyond Mega Evolution and all other transformations; evolve into a state of Sovereignty, and unlock your ZOF Master powers!" Thomas and Vulcan's opponent declared with a passionate zeal as he touched his modified keystone to his lips, and tendrils of multicolored light connected him and Arcanine._

_The fire dog gave a Celestial howl that would have transcendent werebeasts and alpha hellhounds cowering with fear, and he rematerialized from the blinding light as a bigger version of himself with a stronger and slimmer jaw, bigger teeth, and a majestic looking mane that made him look like a cross between a dog, a lion, and a Siberian Tiger._

" _Good job Arcanine; now use Burn Up!" Thomas's opponent commanded authoritatively, causing the once undisputed Master of Pokémon Battles to furrow his eyebrows in intrigue._

_'Burn Up, why use that now? Hmm, I wonder what his plan is.' Thomas IB smirked, his excitement bubbling at the thought of battling a truly worthy adversary. It'd been a long time since he'd been brought down to his final Pokémon in one of these tournaments; hell, even the three other Ash Infinities have been unable to do so lately. This guy and he had beaten all three of the other Ash Infinities, thus allowing AIC2 to prove his mantle as the one and only IBIB version of Ash Ketchum, and now he was facing Thomas IB for the win in the final match. The fact that he was also the first Supreme Omnidony he'd ever encountered and was foreign to their indigenous Omni Omega Omnisphere was mind boggling to contemplate. To think that there was a God Tier above and beyond the sum total of the ZOF itself, and that Ash IC2 was the creator of the ZOF itself! Thomas IB wasn't genuinely surprised by much of anything anymore, but this was on the infinitesimal list of things that overqualified._

_Given the way things were going, the regenerated TIB honestly thought he'd be the undisputed champion of infinite totalities for ages to come… but maybe it wasn't beyond someone else's ability to take his title. It was the one aspiration he fought so hard these past few eternities to attain. But if this newcomer thought he was taking the title of Triple O Champion without duking it out in the fight of his life; then he had another thing coming._

" _Knock it away Vulcan." He commanded, watching as the supreme Charizard brought his left wing over in a sideways arc that batted aside the massive fireball like it was a pesky fly. They could sense that the Arcanine was now type-less and wouldn't get any STABs. At the back of his mind, he wondered what the purpose of that strategy was, but refused to let it come to pass as he ordered his next attack._

" _Wrap this up with a fully charged Flamethrower!" Vulcan immediately complied, and breathed a jet stream of fire hot enough to create an Omni Omega Omnispherical Kugelblitz in its trajectory; the singularity hotter than anything and able to KO even the most resilient Water-types. The Event Horizon of pure, Zenith Omnidonae Force-charged heat absorbed the remaining fire from Vulcan's initial flamethrower that created it, and it struck the Arcanine in an Omni Nova that shook the otherwise indestructible and planet-sized stadium at its very core._

_Thomas and Vulcan both shielded their eyes as the protective wards of the stadium kept the crowd from going blind, but they got the full blast of what followed that immense attack, and even their ZOF Mastery had its limits. The resulting explosion created an ultra-luminous burst that could have ruptured everything, including the barrier between the endless versions of the Triple O itself. There was no smoke, no residual heat or energy signatures after an attack like that; nothing could've survived a heat blast like that… certainly not their opponent's Arcanine. There was no way it wasn't KOed, was there? At the back of his mind, Thomas had a feeling that something was off about this whole strategy; Ash IC2 had been blindsiding and catching him off balance with unprecedented strategies and custom-made Supreme Evolutions this whole battle… which forced him to up his own game beyond the usual strategies that won him this Tournament every time before. What a fantastic way to break the monotony and force him to do something strange and extravagant._

_It was the greatest duel Thomas had fought in a very long time, and he was so honored to have battled such a strong opponent whose mere presence had the ZOF and ESIT literally singing. That had come as a helluva big shock to him when he first met the man, but more impressive… was this individual's remarkable battling styles and strategies. He took his Infinity and IB counterparts' infinitely versatile and adaptive battling styles and turned them into an art form like never before. But, he wasn't about to give up, and in the infamous words of whoever the fuck originally said it; it wasn't over till it was over._

_The Kugelblitz vanished in a wisp of smoke, and Thomas and Vulcan's eyes widened in unison when they saw the Arcanine emerge with a confident smirk on his face and completely unscathed. "Unbelievable, Arcanine has emerged completely unaffected by that last attack! This just in folks! Apparently, that Arcanine's custom-made Supreme Form has Omni Guard for its special ability!" The announcer exclaimed in jubilation and gleeful overzealousness._

_Thomas's eyes widened with open horror, "OH NO!" He exclaimed while sputtering curse-words. 'He's got me and Vulcan trapped. Omni Guard is an ability that incorporates every type of guard-based ability there is, including an upgraded version of Wonder Guard that blocks all non-super effective attacks, regardless of their powers and effects. So, THAT was his strategy all along… to render my attacks useless. It doesn't matter if Vulcan has maximized his ZOF Energy, not when his attacks won't even touch that damn thing._

_And to make matters worse, we can't even cripple him with status because Omni Guard also includes the ability Magic Bounce in its repertoire. This isn't good, I honestly don't know what more Vulcan and I can do now; we can't emulate any abilities like Turboblaze to get through that damn Wonder Guard, and we can't hit him with any kind of status moves._

_Meanwhile, who knows what kind of affects his Supreme Evolution had on Arcanine's move-pool, or what new attacks he can use besides the standard set for his species.' Thomas considered his options, which consisted of virtually none. He wasn't going to forfeit the match at this point, but he and Vulcan both knew it was already pretty much done._

_Even Omni-bypassing moves like Omni Omega Omnisphere Wrecker were essentially useless, because Arcanine was literally type-less right now; a highly unusual state but not impossible to achieve. Type-less states of being were achievable by Pokémon through only a select few moves, Burn Up being one of them, and since Arcanine was pure Fire-type… once he used it… he'd no longer have any type at all, and when used in combination with Omni Guard; you get a Pokémon that was almost completely unbeatable._

_The only thing that would work on this Arcanine right now was a Pokémon with Turboblaze or something similar, and both Thomas and his opponent knew it wasn't within Supreme Charizard's power to gain that ability for himself; either by using his moves or any other means. Thomas had made damn sure to include strengths and weaknesses for each of the Supreme Evolution forms he created, but this was ridiculous how easily his opponent was exploiting their weaknesses. This was why he tried not to make custom-made Supreme Evolutions of his own, because it would be too easy for him to come up with some convoluted, unbeatable strategy, and that wasn't what the Triple O tournament was about._

_It was no fun to win with a Pokémon that was completely unmatched in every sense and aspect, but that didn't mean he didn't respect other Trainer's desires to win with a special custom-made form they themselves came up with the strengths and weaknesses for. Every Pokémon partaking in the Omni Omega Omnispherical Tournaments were required to have some form of exploitable weakness, even if that weakness wasn't readily apparent; it needed to be there for the competitors to find, and that was a rule every respectable Double-O and Triple O Champion abided by._

_Winning with the Triple O's equivalent of a fourth-generation Wonder-tomb or some other unbeatable Pokémon strategy wasn't really a win; working together with your Pokémon to achieve victory against opponents on your own level, and overcoming those weaknesses, that was the mark of a true Champion._

" _Arcanine… Lower Vulcan's defense to absolute zero with an Iron Tail-powered Corkscrew Crash." The Supreme Omnidony instructed, and Thomas smiled contently; vowing to up his gaming strategy and mix it up a little the next time he met this person in the arena. This was the toughest opponent he'd ever faced in a friendly match, and it was an honor as always to duel someone who had managed to exceed him. Seeing TIBIB whoop this guy's butt earlier on in the tournament would have to be enough for now, and he'd do the best he could to incorporate both of their respective strategies. Funny thing was, TIBIB had more or less the same battling style Thomas himself did, but he was even better at it._

" _Go for broke Vulcan, use Fissure and try to score that OHKO." Thomas instructed with a note of desperation in his voice. Vulcan hurriedly complied and stomped on the ground; tearing open the ground with a massive barrage of bottomless fissures that split the skin of the Triple O itself, and went in all directions across the uneven terrain. Arcanine turned the field into the Z-Move space just in time to catapult towards Vulcan in the form of a massive, rotating, tougher-than-diamonds corkscrew. The spinning steel top skated over most of the fissures and met Charizard at the epicenter of the onslaught, and both combatants were swallowed up by the earth in an endless set of bottomless fissures… leaving the commentator stunned to the point of speechlessness and the crowd with suspenseful uncertainty of who would emerge victorious._

XXXXX

_Back in the Present… For now_

As he was gently ushered along by the girl in the straw sun hat and her cautious male friend, Ash Ketchum IBIB allowed himself a fond smile at the girl's insistence that he was rendered crazy by the lightning strike. Clearly, she was just a concerned citizen doing her part to help someone, and he would've been lying if he said he didn't like being fussed over in this new T Triple O he created. Arceus IBIB knows he'd not had people fussing over him in far too long.

' _Oh sure, but who needs people? You've got us…_ ' His starter Raichu IB stated, and Ash snickered in his mind.

' _A true Pokémon Master is a friend to all buddy… be they Pokémon, Trainer, or otherwise. Though what would I know? I've only been a Pokémon Trainer for a few endless sets of endless eternities_.' He rebutted eccentrically, causing the electric mouse to fall silent for the time being. Ever since he won ten thousand championship tournaments in the previous T Triple O, he'd become the undisputed Omni Omega Omnisphere Champion and the IBIB version of Ash Ketchum countless times over; proving his mantle as the one true Supreme Omnidony over and over again to even the mightiest of his created ZOF Masters.

' _I've been planning this for a long time; creating a second T Triple O and expanding the ZOF as well as my creation will in turn buff the strength of my own IBIB titles. Maybe I'll even find my ESIT Eternal Bond Mate after all this time_.' He remembered pronouncing his most recent ambitions to Thomas IBIB after getting his ass kicked by him in the Triple O Tournament. Unlike his final opponent, Thomas IBIB was a Supreme Omnidony much like Ash himself, and had come from the future to knock some sense of proportion into him. Apparently, in some distant future time; Ash IC2 created others like him, and the longtime mysterious TIBIB's origins became suddenly clear to him. Knowing he was the catalyst that lead to the expansion of his people; Ash IC2 knew his decision to create a second T Triple O was the right one.

' _Seems to me like you've got everything more or less figured out, and while I'm not inclined to spoil your own future for you I can say that you're on the right track to finding your eventual soul mate_.' TIBIB replied in an all-knowing tone, the both of them sharing a chuckle.

' _I just wish the ESIT was quicker with the selection process; I created it to be able to find someone for everyone... and I refuse to believe that there's no one out there for me. At the same time, I can't just force a bond like that to occur; I've always been a big believer in letting nature take its course and I'm not about to subtract from the meaning of such a bond by forcefully tying someone's existence to my own_.' Ash said in a slightly dejected tone; not sure why he felt so strongly about finding that one special person but wanting it to be special when he did.

' _Maybe it just hasn't found someone for you yet because there's only one being in all of the Triple O's and even T Triple O's who is just right for you. Maybe you just haven't found them yet; just keep an eye out and don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Trust me man... as soon as you stop trying to force the bond to occur it'll happen on its own; it's just going to take some time, and let's be honest... time is one luxury people like us will always have_.' TIBIB sagely responded. Ash realized he was right, and wasn't about to force the bonding phenomena of his people to occur in any case.

' _Everything feels so unbelievably different and new in this second T Triple O. I'm the most unique creature in this entire realm right now… and this is the first universe I've stopped at here. I know which one it is too, what are the odds I'd end up in a universe where the Pokémon Adventures Manga series really happened? This is going to be a whopper, I can tell you people that much_.' AIC2 stated meta-omnipathically. He was as giddy as a schoolgirl. As far as he knew, not even the Omni IC ZOF Masters had done something on this level before.

' _I am beyond the ZOF itself and its mightiest Masters in its entirety. I guess it stands to reason that I'd be able to create a brand new T Triple O, but it's still shocking to me how easy it was for me to do so_.' AIC2 continued smiling while Yellow led him to her house up in Viridian Forest. The storm was still churning above them, but not as violently now that he fell to this earth.

"So, you gotta name stranger-danger?" Yellow chuckled playfully, pulling him along by the hand as he felt a faint glow in his chest at the simple contact. It'd been far too long since he'd interacted with a regular mortal, and since the ZOF was a much newer construct in this T Triple O; he was free to instigate a shit ton of unprecedented scenarios regarding the ZOF Masters and their powers here. Even if it had all been done before, it had a sense of newness to it because relative to this place… it all might as well have never happened.

"I've been called many names through the ages; the Supreme Omnidony, Ash IC2, Appaneesty IC2, and others, but I suppose you can just call me Ash. That's what everybody else calls me nowadays." He responded inscrutably. Yellow nodded gleefully in acceptance while Red furrowed his eyebrows at the mystique he presented during his response.

"That's fascinating… would it be okay if I just stuck with Ash? AIC2, ZIB, and other such acronyms aren't really normal names around here." Yellow requested of him with exceeding politeness; knowing he needed to ride out this deliriousness and let it run its course.

The now christened Ash chuckled at her bedside manners, finding her compassion for his apparent lightning-addled brain to be equal parts amusing and ironic. If only she knew he wasn't the slightest bit disoriented, that he was speaking the truth. He reckoned she'd find out in due course; until then however, he was content just messing around with her and Red a little.

"That'll be acceptable… I'm not crazy or delirious though Yellow." He told her in a strong voice, causing her to halt mid-stride and stare at him in rapidly increasing distrust and unease.

"How do you know my name?" She demanded with her hands on her hips, looking him directly in the eye with a calculating look on her face. Ash found her haughty change in demeanor to be adorable, but it would be a cold day in hell when he underestimated her. He knew enough about the character Yellow to know she was a spitfire and a powerful force to be reckoned with when the need was great enough. Red had also stopped and was glaring at him with an expression that clearly said… _try anything and you're dead_.

Ash raised his hands in a placating gesture, not in the slightest bit interested in causing a scene. "Sorry for startling you just there, I just figured my knowing your names before you introduced yourselves to me might get your attention. I'm not crazy, nor did I come to your planet with hostile intentions. I actually didn't mean to end up anywhere in particular if I'm being completely honest, but it is… difficult to put my knowledge of your world into terms you humans can understand." He responded, and he saw Yellow crossing her arms over her considerably well-endowed chest for her size and remaining cautious while Red was completely distrustful altogether.

" _Us humans_? Never mind that for now, you better start talking." Red commanded him harshly, his hand hovering over one of his Pokeballs in case Ash tried to attack them.

"Whoa, calm down there… uptight chucklehead. I come in peace." Ash proclaimed in a pacifying undertone; conjuring a white flag to wave at them in the T Triple O sign of truce or surrender. This feat was enough to startle them both, and Yellow quirked an eyebrow at the conjuration of an item that had not been on his person only a split-second before. Granted, he could've had it concealed up the loose sleeves of his black robes and used some sleight of hand to produce it in a seemingly magical fashion… but something told her there was more to it than that.

"Now, how to explain this, I come from a world, an alternate reality with people who have at least some knowledge of almost every universe; this includes your indigenous universe. That's how I knew your names, you guys are actually from a pretty famous version of the Pokémon Universe, and by famous; I mean known to all with an Omniversal knowledge base." Ash started his explanations with a maddening grin. Yellow and Red exchanged a look that agreed on one thing; this guy had lost his sanity a long time ago, and there was no getting it back at this point.

"No offense or anything dude, but why should we believe you? What's to stop us from simply calling you crazy and being done with it?" Red challenged, and Ash's answering grin was unnervingly feral.

"Well, if it proves my case… perhaps I could implement a 'show, don't tell' scenario. Would you feel better if I teleported you both into the sun, or showed you the Arceus on my Pokémon Team? Oh, maybe I could transport us all to the epicenter of an ultra-massive black hole at the center of the biggest galaxy cluster in your universe." His grin became larger and more akin to the Cheshire Mew with every word he spoke, and something told Yellow he wasn't bluffing as she gulped nervously. It took very little time for the implications to sink in, and once they did… Red and Yellow were sufficiently silenced for the moment.

"That… won't be necessary." Yellow finally spoke up, feeling significantly cowed by the implications behind Ash's words; wondering how it was even possible for a person to have so much power.

"Pfft… you're full of it man." Red continued to be the skeptic, and Ash chuckled in a not unfriendly manner.

"Maybe, maybe not… either way; I don't have anything to prove to anyone, and I could just as easily leave your world to its devices. But who knows, it may end up meeting some of my standards in the future." He responded with a wave before his expression softened.

"I'm not going to do any of those things to you Yellow; I would never do anything like that to anyone unless they truly deserved it. I'm talking axe-wielding psychos and murderous clowns, and the like. You and Red don't fit any sort of category that I'd even consider porting into the sun. If you would like to see my Arceus though, I promise… he's quite gentle compared to the one Gold placated back in the Sinjoh Ruins; well, unless you're battling him in an Omega Omnisphere or Triple O Championship Tournament." He offered them while speaking gently and reassuringly to Yellow, surprised by how determined he was to prove to her that he'd never hurt her or her friends. Seeing her looking even the slightest bit intimidated by him, especially when that wasn't his aim in the first place; made him compelled to alleviate her tension by any means necessary.

"You have an Arceus?" Yellow asked in childlike awe and wonder; ignoring Red's scoff of disbelief.

"You can't capture an Arceus Yellow; he's just messing with you. You'd literally be capturing God in Pokémon form." He insistently stated, and Ash couldn't help smirking teasingly.

"He's not wrong, well… in most cases anyways. There is an ultra-rare group of insanely powerful and godlike Pokémon Masters called the Omega Omnisphere Champions; we can not only capture any Pokémon regardless of species, we can also train them to a level of infinity and beyond… making them supreme paragons of their species. We take the concept of Pokémon Mastery and battling to the most sovereign, omnipotent level." Ash explained to a captivated audience, Yellow's eyes turning to stars and Red furrowing his eyebrows at the seriousness in Ash's tone.

"I still don't think I can believe you based on words alone, and so far, you're all talk man." Red declared in a matter-of-fact tone.

Ash's answering grin was just a tad feral. "Then perhaps it's best if I let my actions speak for me. Think you can handle a battle with the mightiest Pokémon Master in ten thousand versions of the Triple O Reality?" He challenged, and Red smirked.

"Sure thing; I'll take on anyone, anywhere, anytime. Not right now though, my Pokémon need rest after their latest bout with Yellow's team." Red admitted to a blushing Yellow who had the good grace to look sheepish.

Neither of them missed the mysterious smile that lit up Ash's face. With a wave of his hands, a blue light enveloped all of Red's Pokeballs who looked down at his belt in shock when Yellow gawked at him with slacken jaws. She turned to look at Ash, whose hand was outstretched and enveloped in the same faint glowing as Red's team.

The glowing stopped and Ash lowered his hand with a satisfied smile on his face. "What did you do?!" Red demanded in pure shock and dismay, having seen something similar from Yellow when she used her healing magic or whatever it was, but something about the casual ease with which Ash glowed blue spoke volumes of his power.

"Oh nothing, just a little magic trick. A simple temporal regression to put your Pokémon back in the state they were prior to battling Yellow." Ash flippantly responded.

"A what in the what now?!" Red questioned in a stupor; hating the fact he wasn't as articulate as the likes of Yellow or Green. He was a simple man of action, all these big words were making his head spin.

Yellow giggled and decided to take pity on her friend and crush. "He means that he manipulated the flow of time around your Pokémon and caused their energy levels to revert back to what they were before you and I fought." She explained, and Red nodded in understanding. That explanation made more sense, though clearly Yellow was well spoken in her own right.

"So, are we going to battle or what?" Ash asked, sounding every bit as eager to fight as Red ever did. Red nodded determinedly, a grin plastered on his face at the prospect of fighting a strong opponent.

"We can't battle right out here though, there's a storm overhead. We'll wait until it passes, get you both warm and dry, and then battle tomorrow. Is that understood you two?" Yellow declared in a no-nonsense tone and with her hands on her hips, silently daring them to contradict her as Red nodded submissively and Ash snickered.

"You're quite the little spitfire when you want to be Yellow." Ash chortled teasingly, making Yellow blush somewhat sheepishly.

"Sorry, I just don't want you boys to catch cold." Yellow admitted concernedly while glancing upward at the iridescently ionized sky with apprehension.

"I don't get sick, ever. One of the benefits of being what I am. And don't worry about the storm. Now that I'm here it won't be for much longer." Ash replied while Red merely shrugged and opted to follow Yellow back to her house. While he was eager to battle the newcomer, he understood why Yellow wanted them to rest at her place first. It was all the better to grill this Ash person for details on who he was. Red still wasn't fully trusting of him, and he hoped Yellow would listen to her head for once and not her heart and tread on the side of caution.

XXXXX

Sensitive to the Emotional Spectrum in both versions of the T Triple O; Ash Ketchum IBIB was perfectly aware of Red's continued mistrust towards him. He knew the manner in which he'd arrived here was a bit unorthodox… okay, a lot unorthodox.

Yellow at least, seemed to slightly believe in him; though she seemed to be questioning his sanity at the back of her mind. Oh well, at least she was nice about it, and it certainly helped that she was superbly cute too. Winning the Omni Omega Omnisphere Championship Tournament against Thomas IB was just the beginning of his journey it seemed. He'd done something even the Omni IC ZOF Masters could only dream of doing. He created a brand new Trans Omni Omega Omnisphere, and he was the AIC2 of both versions.

He was beyond the Zenith Omnidonae Force and every IB Counterpart and ZOF Master in their entirety, but he was also dead set against interfering in the affairs of all his creations. He was to be a casual observer only; making friends here and there but never staying for long. He was the ultimate nomad; he belonged nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time, and he would of course continue to travel endlessly with his Pokémon. Seeing TIBIB back in his last Triple O Tournament had taught him that there were still things about his creation that he didn't know, and things were surely to develop in ways that even he never could've anticipated. For now though, he was content to settle for a while and not upset the status quo as it were.

He also had to establish the abstract forces and various different aspects of the ZOF; including death, gravity, destiny, and other forces of nature that were consistent in both T Triple O's.

The creations of the Omnipotence Nexuses and ESITs as well as the God Magic were a must; other than that though… Ash was free to tweak everything however he wished, and with eyes that glowed molten, iridescent gold… his creation was finalized and he was ready to take on his role as Appaneesty IC2 again. Not that he really needed to do much; since only Omni IC Counterparts were really capable of upsetting the balance of everything he so carefully placed in order; they were the mightiest of his creations and the strongest of all the ZOF God tiers including the Master tier. He was the only one powerful enough to beat them, but they were so unbelievably rare to occur and so unlikely to fight another on their level that he rarely had to involve himself on a more personal and individual level. Aside from that one time with that Zeneptron IC Crisis and that annoying group of mortals from a specific Multiverse; he had done very little in the way of interfering, and things had been going smoothly since time immemorial.

He was one with everything, his supreme meta-omnipresence allowing him to keep an all-seeing 'eye' on everything outside of this Pokémon world while still manifesting himself here in this world, with Yellow and Red. As humans, their bodies performed countless actions every second on a molecular level; his situation was much the same, only on the ultimate scale.

If at any point, something happened that required more of his personal attention such as the aforementioned hypothetical conflict between Omni IC Counterparts, then he would manifest there as well in a heartbeat. As it was though, his mere presence would hold everything together and his role would be fulfilled automatically and on a subconsciously formless level. He didn't even need to personally tend to matters a lot of the time; he fulfilled his function just by existing.

That being said, he refused to exist as a creature of consciousness alone; he desired the life of a traveler, and to casually observe the infinite flux of his creations.

"So Ash, you're a Pokémon Trainer to then? You claimed to have an Arceus which we have yet to see, but could you tell us who your starter was?" Yellow questioned him like a curious Mew, and she was just as cute as one too. He had been hoping he'd find his ESIT blessed soul mate out here in the new Trans Omni Omega Omnisphere, but this was happening way sooner than he thought it would; not that he was complaining of course.

"Oh that's easy, my starter was Pikachu, who has since evolved into Raichu. We've… been through a lot together and even competed in the biggest Pokémon tournaments ever thrown in the history of the Triple O and all of its counterparts in the past and future." Ash replied with a maddening grin on his face that didn't do much to convince them of his sanity.

"Yeah, what is a Triple O exactly?" Red demanded frustratingly; tired of all the geek-speak.

"Oh, a Triple O is what I use as an abbreviation for the term Omni Omega Omnisphere; it's basically part of a set of neoteric infinite-dimensional constructs that I alone established and created. The only set larger than a Triple O currently is the T Triple O; each dimensional tier being an infinite accumulation of the one beneath it. So, T Triple O's are the largest infinite-dimensional constructs in existence currently, and there are only two of them at this point. T Triple O's are also an infinite accumulation of Triple O's, which are an infinite accumulation of Omega Omnispheres, which are an infinite accumulation of Pocket Totalities and finite realms such as Hyperverses, Megaverses, Multiverses, Universes, galaxies, worlds, etc. Omega Omnispheres are commonly referred to as the beginning of true infinity and are the largest scaled Totalities of existence most beings can fathom or have a reference frame for. Their depth, magnitude, range, and every other dimensional radius are the lowest level of infinity established by my ZOF's established hierarchies of boundlessness. Basically, the way it works is there's always a bigger set of infinities out there, and I'm basically the creator of all of them." He lengthily explained.

"I... didn't understand much of any of that, but I think I get the gist. So, the universe isn't everything like we believe it is then?" Red questioned him, still not 100 percent but unable to deny that this man was as intelligent as he was mad.

"A common error of the parochial mind, there's always so much more to reality than anyone can possibly imagine Red... well, anyone except me." Ash informed him.

"That sounds amazing…" Yellow dazedly stated, finding it more and more difficult to discredit his words, especially when they were spoken with such a practiced ease… like he'd had this conversation thousands of times before. The man gave off a symphony of every note of power imaginable, and his eyes were as ancient as she'd ever seen. Looking more closely at him now; she was starting to see signs of his immense power. She'd seen the way his hand glowed and could sense Red's team overflowing with power.

"Got the idea from Victini." Ash remarked suddenly in response to her thoughts, making her raise an eyebrow at him questioningly. Could this guy read minds?

Ash laughed, "Yes I can actually… I'm a meta omnipath and omnikinetic manipulation master." He added, once again in perfect response to her thoughts. She blanched with shock, while Red merely stared in confusion.

"What about Victini?" He queried.

"Oh, on top of the temporal regression… I also pulled a Victini." When Red still looked confused Ash sighed and looked at Yellow in exasperation as if to say 'what did you ever see in this dude and his density'?

"The Pokedex entry on Victini says that when it shares the infinite energy it creates… that Pokémon's body will overflow with power. Your Pokémon are operating at approximately 500 percent of their species' statistical maximum. Let's just say they'll have lots of excess energy to burn when we have our battle; even though their stat boosts will have worn off by then since they're inside Pokeballs!" Ash declared with an enthusiastic fist pumping into the air.

Yellow's eyes widened, "500 percent capacity?! But that's impossible! A Pokémon can only at most quadruple their maximum base powers at level 100 without the use of choice items or a Life Orb which either saps their health or vastly limits their move pool. Anything beyond that puts too much of a strain on their body."

"Tell that to a Mega Mawile with Huge Power and access to Psych Up for copying Belly Drum and Anger Point Attack maximizers. Pokémon don't have clear cut limitations to their powers regardless of the universe, and the stat calculation system isn't an exact science in any sense.

Plus, has it not occurred to you people that those Pokeballs you use as containers for your mons are also suppressing their powers. It's a proven fact that capturing a Pokémon in a Pokeball prevents it from using its full power. So ultimately, Pokémon having such clear-cut limitations is impossible." Ash concluded his speech in one breath, never once falling short and surprising them with his endless lung capacity.

Yellow nodded like she found that believable, and Red chuckled in a not unfriendly manner. "Always remember you two, there's no limit to how strong you and your Pokémon can become." Ash added with seemingly infinite wisdom.

"Admirable sentiment Ash." Yellow commented with a dazzling smile while Red merely scoffed, though inside he was impressed by Ash's conviction. He wondered what tomorrow's battle would bring, and sighed in relief when they finally reached Yellow's house. He would never admit it, but Yellow had really pushed him and his team to their limits earlier today.

"Thanks for that assessment, Amarillo Del Bosque Verde." He said her full name with a flawless accent and everything… causing her to blush a little. One of the things that attracted her to a man was if they were well traveled and well cultured. Red was well traveled and that had been one of the many things that attracted her to him, and now Ash not only knew her full name but spoke it in the language and with the accent that was intended for it.

"You know her full name?!" Red questioned him with mild surprise.

"You'll see more of what I can do in our battle tomorrow… for now though; I'd really like to impose on your friend here for a bit. Say Yellow, does your offer for tea still stand? I'm curious about how things taste in this T Triple O compared to its counterpart… it'd be reassuring to know I added my own spin on the concept of taste when I created it here without subtracting from what made that primary sense so great in the previous version." Ash rambled like a raving lunatic as Yellow giggled at his eccentricities and Red stared at him like he was nuts.

"You know what, I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. Let's just go inside Yellow." Red irately said, and Yellow nodded before opening the door to let both boys inside… blushing at the thought of having two males with her, alone in the house together.

Her uncle was out on a Pokémon fishing trip with some friends; so it was just her and two admittedly gorgeous members of the opposite sex. She just needed to keep her head on straight and not dwell on the fact that she was a grown woman at the height of her sex drive. Yeah, she could do that for one night. As she followed both of them inside and closed to door behind her, she failed to notice that the storm had passed at absurd speeds… acknowledging the presence of its Peerless Omniarch in the brand new T Triple O

XXXXX

It was with a crimson face that Yellow shuffled into the kitchen after getting Red and Ash settled into the guest room and her world's new arrival got first dibs on the couch and the Television channel.

Yellow had a three-time policy, once a guest had visited her house more than three times they weren't considered a guest anymore; which meant that Red was an honorary member of her household and she could freely ask him to help out around here if he was going to stay overnight.

That in turn meant Ash had some privileges Red no longer did, but being a contributing household member came with certain benefits as well. Yellow made certain to make all who came to her house feel welcome, but Ash would soon learn the difference between a guest and a true friend in Yellow's books.

' _Let's review, I've got a man who's literally an alien God in my living room and speaks of things like dimensional tiers and being able to capture Pokémon like Arceus; whom many believe to be a representation of God in Pokémon form. I can't believe this is my life now, or that I would be open minded enough to consider the possibility that he's telling the truth_.'

"Hey Ash, milk and sugar?!" Yellow called to the living room over her shoulder, flustered by the fact that she forgot to ask him.

"Yes please!" He exclaimed eagerly, leading her to believe he really liked his sweet tea. She wouldn't drown the drink in the stuff since that wasn't good for anybody's health, but she briefly wondered if human dietary and nutritional needs even applied to him.

Red didn't bother reminding her he liked his tea with just milk, Yellow already knew and never forgot… having always paid an extraordinary amount of attention to details regarding him because of her feelings for him.

He knew he wasn't guaranteed to get a cup from her and would likely get an earful about getting one for himself if he asked her too most days… but she was in a relatively good mood today and decided to be nice to her long-time crush even though he broke her heart.

She was still devastated over the fact that Red basically said he'd never like her back, but she knew she'd get over it eventually… and having a guest in her house for the first time in a while proved a welcome distraction from her own feelings.

She was brought out of her musing by the teapot whistling to indicate the water was boiling, and took it off the stovetop just as her Pokegear started ringing; causing her to pause as she recognized the Hoothoot ringtone of Blue.

"Hey Blue, how's it going?" Yellow chirped when she picked up the phone and multitasked between preparing the tea and talking on the phone. She watched as the tea steeped in the water and listened to Blue's response.

"I'm doing okay, but I just got away from Green's gym and he told me what was going on between you and Red." Blue paused a moment with a slightly fractured breath, and Yellow was surprised to learn she'd been crying.

"I'm so sorry Yellow, I feel like the worst friend in the world. Just so you know, I never meant to come between you and your feelings for Red. You're one of my best friends and I pray to Arceus that something like this won't come between us.

Are you holding up okay? I can come over to your place tonight so we can watch cheesy or sad movies together and curse boys for all we're worth." Blue comforted her with such profound guilt in her voice that Yellow couldn't help but laugh. Blue was a true friend, and had been more torn up over the love triangle she and Yellow were in with Red than Yellow was.

"We'd have to be ferociously out of whack to jeopardize our friendship over a crush Blue; no matter who that crush is on. I could never blame you for any of this even if I wanted to, and I never wanted to blame you, believe me." Yellow spoke soothingly, surprised that she wasn't embarrassed by making this admission in front of Red as she brought him and Ash their tea.

Red looked pleasantly surprised by the topic of her conversation with Blue but didn't say anything, and Yellow was surprised that Ash didn't look confused by what was going on between the three of them.

"He's there at home with you isn't he?" Blue gritted out in a dangerous undertone, and Yellow laughed while Red merely gulped nervously.

"Yes he is." Yellow said with a playful giggle at Red's expense while Blue sucked in a breath on her end.

"Girl, just say the word and I'll give him the cold shoulder, or better yet… maybe we could share him. I'm willing if you are." Blue scandalously offered, much to Yellow's shock and indignation. Ash snickered at that while muttering something along the lines of 'Every man's wet dream come true. Lucky son of a bitch.'

"Who was that? I heard someone else talking." Blue curiously asked her, her hearing shockingly sharp as Yellow nodded before remembering they were talking on the phone and elaborated with actual words.

"I have a guest over as well. It was kinda last minute and unexpected but we found him out and about in that freak storm, so I figured why not?" Yellow informed her, not wanting to tell Blue any more than that until she herself could glean more information from the man about his intentions, and maybe his interests and what turned him on as well.

"Is he cute?" Blue asked her almost immediately while Ash sipped his tea with a contented sigh, seemingly oblivious to their conversation now.

"Very." Yellow admitted with surprising nonchalance, and Blue giggled suggestively on the other end.

"Ooh, maybe there's another reason you're being so forgiving on the matter of Red hmm?!" Blue purred, and Yellow could just imagine her waggling her eyebrows at her on the other line. Yellow blushed despite herself.

"It's not like that, I literally only met the man. Well, it isn't like that yet, I suppose." Yellow whispered frantically into the phone, though out of the corner of her eye she could've sworn she saw Ash smiling just a tad bit smugly at her admission.

"Anyways, about your earlier suggestion to share Red with me; I can't say I'm not tempted by your offer, but I wouldn't do that to you guys. Just promise me… you'll make him very happy, because that's what I would've done. And if you hurt him, you'll find I'm not going to be as forgiving about that as I was about this." Yellow warned her friend, whom she could hear gulping nervously on the other end. Everybody among the Dexholders knew better than to piss Yellow off.

"Fair enough, just so long as you promise to find someone wonderful to spend the rest of your life with. I'd hate to have to play matchmaker with your love life, but if you force my hand I will do so." Blue extracted a promise from her and gave her a warning in return. Now it was Yellow's turn to gulp, both at the prospect of finding someone within a set time frame and having Blue get all in her business to ensure she honored her promise.

"And about your other offer, you can come over tonight if you want… Red and my guest are both still here. I'll say this now; there will be no hanky-panky between you and Red while you are here at my house.

You can kiss him or whatever if you're feeling bold enough, but not in front of me. Just because I've given you both my approval of your relationship doesn't mean I need to see that." Yellow commanded authoritatively, and she could practically feel Blue blushing like mad on the other end as she squeaked in a flustered nod of assent. Yellow giggled at the admittedly adorable sound her friend made, and nearly squealed in delight when Blue said she'd be there in a flash.

It was then that Yellow remembered the storm outside and went to her living room window to gaze at the evening sky, only to find that they were clearer than she'd seen them all day.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and she might've been imagining it, but she thought the sun was shining brighter and the sky was bluer. Shaking her head at the absurd idea of Ash intensifying the vibrancy of her world, Yellow opened the drapes to let the golden rays light up the living room.

"More tea Ash?" Yellow asked him, noticing that his cup was empty as Ash shook his head.

"Thanks but no, you go ahead and rest your feet now Yellow. I'm good for now." He kindly vetoed her offer, and Yellow beamed at his politeness as she took the comfy chair opposite the couch where he and Red sat.

"So, have you got a place to stay here in our world Ash?" Yellow asked him curiously.

"Not at this very moment, I have to transport my house over from its previous location in the other T Triple O. I knew I would survive the journey but I couldn't be certain my belongings would make it through the barrier and I wanted to get a lay of this new land before I moved my stuff here permanently." He explained as Yellow nodded.

"So travel between the two T Triple O's is difficult then? I guess that makes sense. You got anyone staying with you?" Yellow continued her 411.

Ash chortled, "Just my Pokémon and I." He answered her airily.

"Really, so there's no special someone in your life, no girlfriends or anything?!" Yellow gasped in mock surprise teasingly, surprised when Ash's face darkened.

"No actually... Though I'm hoping to change that someday. I'm actually in the business of looking for my ESIT Eternal Bond Mate in all honesty, wanting to settle down and all that. Though despite my impossibly long life and for all the singing it does in my presence; the ESIT has yet to choose a mate for me. It's rather frustrating." He admitted in an inappropriately serene tone. Yellow wondered why he was holding out for someone special when he could literally snap his fingers and have any girl he wanted; it was interesting to consider the morals of a God from a philosophical standpoint. Did he ever have to answer for anything he did regardless of its immorality, or was everything he did moral by definition, just by its fundamental nature?

"ESIT Eternal Bond Mates?" She repeated inquiringly, not really knowing the difference between it and a regular soul bond, but something about it made her blush for some reason.

Ash was just opening his mouth to reply when Yellow's doorbell rang. "Oh, that must be Blue… I hope you guys don't mind that I invited her over. To be continued Ash." Yellow giggled as she got up to answer the door and noticed Red shuffling nervously in his seat at the prospect of Blue being over.

She felt sympathy for him swell in her chest, and sent him a playful wink which made him blush. As she answered the door, she contemplated a couple more questions that decided to pop into her mind without her permission. What in the world was an ESIT, and what would Blue think of her new friend?

XXXXX

"Oh my God, he's gorgeous Yellow." Blue chuckled playfully when she'd first gotten settled in and seen Ash for the first time. She and Yellow were currently in the kitchen, preparing snacks for Yellow's new guest per Blue's suggestion.

'The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach', her friend had said… and Yellow wanted to deny any romantic interest she might've been displaying towards Ash, but Blue was a girl on a mission. She was hell-bent on ensuring Yellow didn't have to go without a nice man in her life; not when she'd already lost Red.

"Don't you think this is moving on just a little too quickly for me?! I literally just met the man today, and I've known and loved Red for years." Yellow protested half-heartedly, knowing she might as well have been talking to a brick wall for all the good it would do.

" _Are you kidding me_?! The man literally falls into your lap just as you're fessing up to Red and dealing with the painful sting of rejection. That's providence honey, and you've got a golden opportunity here to open your heart to someone new. Besides, love doesn't really follow a clock and some people are just meant to be in your life..." Blue dramatically proclaimed, dancing around the kitchen with her hands folded together.

Yellow blushed more furiously than ever at Blue's growing enthusiasm; hoping that a certain person wouldn't listen in on them from the other room. Blue's comment about providence brought an odd thought to her mind, what if Ash had timed his arrival deliberately? With all the powers he supposedly possessed; she didn't doubt it was possible for him to be manipulating them and their feelings.

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention he's looking to settle down himself; said he's searching for a mate and all that." Yellow mentioned offhandedly, and Blue quirked an eyebrow.

"Wow, and so what... he's decided to settle for you? Not that there's anything wrong with it, but like you said you two only just met! Still, true love can blossom between the two of you. Ooh, I can't wait; there will be double dates, parties, and so many wonderful Christmases. And we'll have to plan each other's weddings and be each other's bridesmaids! Just thinking about it gets me all riled up!" Blue all but shouted with passion as the blonde girl's entire body blushed as red as a Darmanitan.

"Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?!" Yellow squeaked cutely, feeling her whole body burn like a furnace as Blue continued to make her all hot and bothered.

"Not at all! Don't worry girl… I'll help you every step of the way. And if all goes to plan, we'll have that gorgeous guy eating out of the palm of your hand before the month is up." Blue whispered conspiratorially. Yellow's response to that was to faint, the heat of her full body blush becoming too much for her to handle as Blue laughed and took a picture of her friend's peaceful, 'sleeping angel' face before she decided to enlist the boys' help to get the poor, intensely flustered girl in her bed or somewhere equally comfy.

XXXXX

Yellow awoke in the early hours of the morning with a start, wondering how she had gotten in her bed and trying to remember what happened. 'Oh, that's right… I fainted. Stupid Blue, getting me all flustered.' She cursed the brown haired girl inwardly, only just becoming aware of another presence in her room with her that very moment.

Ash was sitting on a chair by her bedside, and was fast asleep in a sitting position. Yellow immediately flushed again, unable to wrap her head around the fact that he'd not only carried her up to her room but stayed by her side the whole time.

'He doesn't even know me, and yet he's being so nice to me.' She pondered the enigmatic man, feeling genuinely touched by his innately good character; despite the fact he could've done literally anything to her in the night and no one would've been any the wiser. Checking the time, she realized it was 3 in the morning and her eyes widened. Red and Blue would've gone to bed in the guest room hours ago. She was horrified at the prospect of them cuddling together in the same bed, but managed to refrain from making a scene and ruining their first night together.

"It should've been me! We were meant to be together; I saw the strings from Kitty's String Shot that bound us together. What could possibly have the power to change that?" She mused aloud in a hushed, despairing whisper, and immediately her eyes fell on her sleeping new friend.

For the first time, she noticed a Raichu lying in his lap fast asleep, and Yellow's eyes widened at the sheer, indefatigable energy both the mouse and his Trainer gave off in palpable waves; something she was more sensitive to than the average girl due to her psychic abilities.

It occurred to her that this extraordinary Trainer and his Pokémon needed neither rest, nor tea or refreshments, yet they were human enough to have not lost their taste for such simple and mortal pleasures.

Despite herself and her embarrassment, she wondered if he and his Pokémon still remembered the feelings that came with orgasmic pleasure, or had he grown past the need for such things? His very existence was perpetuated or so it seemed, so surely, he had no need for a relationship or procreation; both of which humans and mortal Pokémon alike craved by instinct in order to continue their species.

She had been the first to believe in him and his so called Godhood, it was far easier to accept than she thought it would be… but maybe everything she and her friends had been through allowed her to look at Ash Ketchum as some supercharged version of Arceus in human form; maybe even the strongest version of Arceus of all.

She'd never considered the idea that there could be more than one of that particular Pokémon, but God or not, Arceus was still a Pokémon. 'This is ridiculous, I've only just met the man. Now's not the time to ogle him, even if he is gorgeous. If I'm going to end up being attracted to him, I want to get this right and get to know him better first.' She resolved in her mind as the Raichu stirred in Ash's lap. Yellow remembered him saying his starter was a Pikachu and that he evolved, so this must've been the very same Raichu.

Seeing Ash absentmindedly scratch his starter behind the ear in his sleep and listening to Raichu's squeak of utter content caused Yellow to gush fondly at the sight of them.

Clearly, they both had a really strong bond. She wondered what kind of adventures they'd been through together, and figured she could scarcely imagine some of them as her eyelids grew heavy and drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face and visions of her new friend in her dreams to keep her company the same as he did in the material world. She hoped it wasn't too soon for her to start thinking of him as a friend, because he was certainly there for her like one.

XXXXX

To say Red was overjoyed at the prospect of having Blue over would be an understatement, he was positively ecstatic. On the other hand, he was also nervous about having the brunette of breathtaking beauty sleep in the same room as him, especially since she had no regard for privacy where he was concerned, and stripped to change into her pajamas right in front of him.

Red tried to focus on anything but her tanned shapely legs or her panty-clad butt. And he definitely didn't pop an erection when he saw her topless and realized she hadn't been wearing a bra underneath her shirt. 'Jesus fuck, this girl is going to be the death of me!' He screamed inwardly.

Blue was feeling surprisingly bold and could tell her near total nudity was having the desired effect on Red. She'd been attracted to him for years now, having always felt afraid to come between him and Yellow and overjoyed when Yellow seemed okay with the two of them. She was going to help her girlfriend get with this Ash person if it was the last thing she did; she owed Yellow that much at least.

She knew she was wading in a dangerous pool right now, getting all hot and heavy with Red under Yellow's own roof, but she was through waiting. Yellow may have told her not to get like this with Red while under her roof, but what the cute but terrifying blonde didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Besides, she had a gorgeous man of her own to keep her mind preoccupied.

"Make some room on the bed." She whispered commandingly to Red, who obliged and shuffled further to the side of the bed as Blue crawled in beside and sensually started rubbing her naked upper body and smooth skin up and down his bare back.

She was thankful he chose to sleep without his pyjama tops tonight, for she could now feel the profound effect she was having on him and all the goosebumps breaking out on his skin.

"Blue… I don't think we should be doing this in Yellow's House; it doesn't feel right." Red protested weakly, causing Blue to pause in her ministrations.

"Maybe you're right, but she's gonna have to get used to us eventually Red, and I've been attracted to you for almost as long as she has. We can wait till tomorrow if you really want us too… and we can pick this up at my place or yours if you want. It's up to you." Blue murmured back in a soft, seductive voice.

She didn't want to wait anymore; she'd been waiting patiently for years… but if Red really wanted her too then she would. She'd do anything for him, and besides, one more night wasn't going to kill her.

"I promise, we can pick this up tomorrow wherever else you like, but for tonight can we just cuddle and have this?" Red requested kindly as he held onto Blue possessively by her slim waist, causing her to melt in his arms and nod while nuzzling in his strong chest.

"I think I can do that." She whispered with pure reverence, bringing him into a violently passionate Kalosian kiss that held all her pent up romantic and sexual frustration built up over years, and which she and Red felt all the way down in their toes.

XXXXX

 _The next day_ …

The Pidgy's chirped a melodious tone as Viridian Forest came alive. The mid-summer sun penetrated the treetops all the way to the forest floor; lighting it up a barrage of vibrant greens, whites, and golds. Summer on Pokeearth and particularly in Kanto was arguably Ash IC2's favorite season; though certain seasons on certain planets could give it a run for its money. Winter on the Planet Krypton, Sunrises on the Planet Christmas in the Doctor Who Universe, and nighttime on the planet Vudinox in any Veetox IB's reality was a season all by itself, lasting a grand total of 500 Earth years.

All and all though, he was quite partial to the Kanto Region's crisp, none-too-hot summer air. He was glad to know he'd managed to get his home region right when creating the new T Triple O; pulling a Ben 10 Omniverse with his favorite Pokémon region had not been on his to-do list.

"Raichuuu." His electric mouse eagerly squeaked while sitting on his shoulder, and Ash smiled at him fondly while scratching his starter behind the ear.

"Today marks the day of our first battle in the new set of Omni Omega Omnispheres. Raichu, let's show Red what we can do and why Ash Ketchum was the name of a Trainer who beat the Triple O Tournament ten thousand times, not Red. You ready buddy?" Ash fist pumped emphatically while giving his speech, earning a collective, meta-omnipathic cheer from his endless arsenal of different Pokémon.

Every Pokémon from every Omega Omnisphere and Triple O; every Fakemon, legendary, and mythical Pokémon as well as every Ultra Beast and the like. They had access to every form change accessible by their species; whether fan made or exclusive to certain universes, temporary evolution whether mega, supreme, battle bond, or the like. They could alternate between them all at will and had an endless reservoir of Z-Powers at beyond Omni IC levels. He could even create custom-made Z-Moves for his Pokémon to achieve any desired effect no matter how absurd.

All his Alola Pokémon could become a Totem version of themselves and drastically boost all their stats by Aleph: Infinite stages or higher; his Ultra Beasts could use a Sovereign variant of Beast Boost Aura to immeasurably increase all of their stats as well, and of course his Ultra Necrozma had the mightiest Totem Aura of all his Pokémon... boosting all of his stats by the most supremely infinite value, that included his critical hit capacity, natural evasiveness, and accuracy. That was something most normal Totem Aura Boosts could not do. All of this culminated in his being the Triple O Champion of Pokémon ten thousand times over, and now that he was the AIC2 of a brand new T Triple O; he was going to be endlessly revered and hated by all who wished to be him.

He wasn't surprised that he was the first one up, because even though he and his Pokémon strived to sleep and eat out of sheer habit; it was getting progressively harder not to lose his human traits to the vast powers he now possessed. He had left Yellow asleep in her bed, much too eager to get the day started and wanting to kick things off with a battle against his manga counterpart Red.

' _Any idea which of us you're going to choose? Pick me… I'll destroy him! Now, now, I'm sure this matter can be resolved peacefully! Speak for yourself, I'll Psystrike that Poli the Poliwrath into absolute oblivion_!' His Mewtwo IBIB piped up in a random display of differing personalities, each one popping up at random intervals and speaking with a different accent and/or different sounding telepathic voice. His total unpredictability and infinite number of preferred fighting styles have won Ash many battles and his countless selves could never fully agree on anything.

Unlike the Celestialsapiens however, none of Mewtwo IBIB's personalities needed to be in agreement on anything in order for the personality behind the wheel at the time to take action. Nobody would initially suspect the battle-oriented genetic Pokémon also had an infinitely diverse set of differing personalities and would sporadically alternate between them without a moment's notice. In that respect, he was similar to Thomas IB's Arceus Arion, except he was like Arion with a perpetual case of over-stimulation. All of his personalities were disconcertingly manic and extreme, but that was the only constant among them and didn't make his Mewtwo any less unpredictable.

"I think I'm going to go with a non-legendary team; sorry Mewtwo, maybe next time." Ash laughed, never quite knowing what to expect from the psychic-type.

' _Say what bitch, fuck that shit man! Hey, hey now… watch your language kind sir! Oh shut the fuck up mate, nobody wants to hear your faux British accent! Right, like yours is any better! Hey, can you guys shut up for one Planck Instant here, I'm trying to express my irritation towards our Trainer! Fuck you man! Oh, now you done it! Bring it on bitch! ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I'LL KILL YOU_..." Mewtwo shifted eye color, personality, and shiny colorations in a never-ending, kaleidoscopic display; all of his infinite selves perfectly aware of one another. Ash shook his head as Mewtwo started arguing among himself, having to refrain from laughing.

"Sometimes I wonder why I designed his personality that way, but hey… at least it makes things livelier, and Mewtwo is totally unpredictable in battle as well." Ash mused aloud, his T Triple O-ranged senses picking up on the fact that Yellow was waking up.

He had been sitting out in the front yard, which was directly in the middle of the forest. He decided to go back inside and conjure up some food to make everyone breakfast, wanting to ease the three Dexholders into what he could do; especially since Blue had no clues about what he was whatsoever.

Walking back inside and into the kitchen, Ash heard Yellow sitting up in her bed and Blue and Red snoring lightly in their shared bed in the other room. Deciding on a simple breakfast of cereal marshmallows and milk; he sprinkled some Enigma berries on top of each bowl of cereal just to ensure everybody got the right balance of nutrition and deliciousness.

Since Enigma berries fulfilled all nutritional, caloric, and taste-based requirements and desires without limit; Ash could give everyone a breakfast comprised entirely of cereal marshmallows and still fulfill every single one of their individual dietary needs in a single meal. The best part was the Enigma berries would inherit the taste and texture of the food it's served with; so it would just be a few more marshmallows in every bowl.

He heard someone yawning cutely as they came walking down the stairs into the kitchen, and turning his head; he saw Yellow walking into the kitchen clad in a Pikachu onesie and rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Morning Ash, did you make breakfast?" She greeted him with mild surprise, looking down at the bowl of strange looking cereal that was definitely not in her cupboards the night before.

"Just something quick and easy; Earth Prime cereal Marshmallows with our world's very own Enigma Berries mixed in for that perfect nexus point of deliciousness and nutrition." Ash declared as though he were a spokesperson for a commercial.

"Cereal marshmallows?" She repeated curiously, having never heard of such a thing before.

"Yeah, I've always found the selection of food available in the Pokémon World to be not as versatile for several reasons. That's why I'm starting the day off by incorporating some Earth Prime or non Pokémon inhabited human world's cuisine into my everyday meal planning. Try some and see what you think." Ash offered her a decent sized cereal bowl as Yellow shrugged. In all truthfulness, cereal marshmallows sounded perfectly unhealthy for one to even bother eating, but since he'd mixed Enigma berries with it she was willing to give it a try.

"I'm impressed, not many people know or appreciate the hidden qualities of the Enigma Berries Ash." Yellow commented before dipping her spoon in the admittedly delicious looking cereal and putting it in her mouth with a healthy amount of marshmallows.

The moment she crunched the marshmallows and the Enigma Berries with her teeth, her taste buds exploded with pure pleasure as her golden eyes widened with shock. She almost choked when trying to swallow her first bite; still reeling when she opened her mouth to deliver her verdict.

"That was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted!" She shrieked with absolute delight. Ash chuckled at her enthusiasm as she continued eating her breakfast with gusto.

"I'm glad you like it, this was admittedly not originally my design; though one could argue it was since I created the brilliant minds that invented marshmallow cereal in every reality, but I digress." Ash shrugged noncommittally. Yellow quirked an eyebrow at him, knowing what he was but still having a hard time coming to grips with it.

"Man, you really are a God aren't you?" She whispered in awe, and Ash looked uncomfortable.

"I know it sounds mad, but my people pretty much invented mad." He replied, and Yellow laughed at his surprising humility.

"What's more surprising is how accepting I am of this. So, you're like the ultimate version of Arceus… in human form or something like that?" She asked him for clarification, and he nodded.

"Basically, yeah… but I'm not interested in garnering any form of worship; especially from the less primitive cultures and worlds. I know in some cases it's inevitable, being what I am and my role as AIC2 will see to that, but I honestly just enjoy playing video games, fighting in the most epic Pokémon battles ever, and many other things.

Just because I am Sovereign Omnipotence incarnate doesn't mean I'm not a person Yellow; Gods can be people too, albeit a different sort of people, but people nonetheless. Having these powers doesn't change who and what I am; they simply highlight the best parts of who I always was." He replied emphatically, and Yellow giggled at his determination to ensure she saw him as just a regular guy.

"You don't need to worry about that Ash; you already seem like a reasonably normal guy… having these powers just seems to add character. Oh, I meant to ask you last night; what is an ESIT Eternal Bond Mate?" Yellow stammered and stuttered, hating that she was tripping over her words in front of him.

"The ESIT is the Emotional Spectrum of Infinite Totalities, and is the nexus that binds all sentient beings together throughout a specific Triple O; by our thoughts, emotions, and feelings. The ESIT is the ultimate wavelength and the ties that bind us, as well as the source of all spiritual and emotional energy throughout every version of the Omni Omega Omnisphere. Every sentient being has an ESIT Energy Signature or Aura as it is also called; though some universes also call it our heart gauge, emotional and/or spiritual energies, and many others. For someone like me, my ESIT signature is enhanced beyond the capacity of the ZOF itself much like all our other powers and traits; so we are able to forge forever bonds with those we befriend or fall in love with. Our capacity to love, hate, or feel any other emotion or feeling are as limitless as our powers, and my people don't just mate for life; we mate for eternity.

Those who are able to bind themselves to myself and my mightier creations completely via an ESIT soul bond enter an obligate symbiotic relationship with us, and we enter a bond so strong that we cease to be just individuals and become part of each other. We live together forever in pure bliss and content, free from true strife against one another, free from lies, deceit, and the burden of keeping secrets from one another. It's the strongest bond a Zenith Omnidony or someone like me can have, and arguably the strongest of all soul bonds anyone can experience in any Triple O meta omni dimensional construct. The ESIT is also one of the few constants in both Trans Omni Omega Omnispheres; existing in every reality in some form or fashion." Ash explained lengthily, and Yellow hung on his every word with hearts in her eyes.

"Oh my God, that's so romantic!" Yellow screamed, having always been hopeless in that department. She wondered if she would ever share a bond even partially as strong as that kind with her eventual soul mate, and was envious of Ash for being able to bond with someone on that scale.

"You will find someone someday I'm sure Yellow; it's me I'm worried about honestly. If things keep happening naturally as they are, and I don't see some actual progress in my attempts to find a mate; I might actually have to force an ESIT Soul Bond to occur. Still, that doesn't mean I can't help you find someone while I'm at it; if you don't mind my help that is. At least one of us would be finding their special one then." Ash offered her kindly, and Yellow gave him a radiant smile though she felt her out go out to him for the obvious loneliness he suffered from. She still didn't completely understand the sheer mechanics he abided by, and wondered why he seemed content to let nature take its course where this ESIT was concerned, but it was nice to know he was willing to help her out with her romantic troubles despite facing his own problems with the matters of the heart.

"You're being so nice to me, and you don't even know me. Why is that Ash?" Yellow couldn't help but ask, remembering pondering that very same question the night before as Ash shrugged.

"No special reason, I just think you can do better than Red; especially if he doesn't feel the same way. I've always had a soft spot for anyone having to deal with the pain of unreciprocated love; you deserve to find someone wonderful to spend the rest of your life with." He admitted with a fond smile, and Yellow beamed at him.

"So do you, and I know we don't know each other very well Ash, but I'd like it if we could be friends." Yellow sweetly replied.

"I'd be honored to be your friend Yellow, and thank you." Ash whispered gratefully, and Yellow couldn't help but give him another dazzling smile at that. He was friendly, she'd give him that much.

"So, are you looking forward to battling Red?" She curiously questioned in an effort to divert the topic to something less heavy, and Ash nodded enthusiastically in affirmation.

"Of course, Raichu and I have been up since early in the morning; unable to sleep in due to our anticipation. I had at first thought of using my Team's full power-levels to sweep Red and prove my power to you guys once and for all, but then I thought... why not beat him at his own game. If I can battle Red while suppressing my Pokémon's powers to fit this universe's mechanics and win; then wouldn't I be proving my point even more?

It's been a while since I've had a battle in non UV or ZOF terms, and as the Pokémon Champion of ten thousand Omni Omega Omnispheres I need to be a master of Pokémon Battling in all formats and on every conceivable scale." Ash lengthily answered her, and Yellow's eyes widened at the enormity of his statement. She knew he was powerful and all that, but to actually block his Pokémon from using whatever world breaking abilities they normally had...

"That's amazing, what else can you do?" Yellow whispered in awe, because despite her best efforts, it was pretty cool.

Ash shuffled uncomfortably, "Zenith Omnidonae have three tiers, the regular Zenith Omnidonae, ZOF Prodigies, and ZOF Masters; the strongest ZOF Masters are called Omni IC Counterparts. As far as I know; I'm the strongest of all the known Omni IC ZOF Masters currently existing. It's honestly more of a question of what I _can't_ do at this point. The ZOF is endlessly self-transcending, T Triple O-encompassing energy designed to represent all arguments of power no matter how omnipotent, and I'm basically as all-powerful as it gets." He informed her with a sheepish smile, and because Yellow was good with words herself, she knew what the word omnipotence meant at least.

"So basically, you can do anything? Um, pardon me for asking this, but what are Zenith Omnidonae exactly?" She wondered, listening for any sign of Red and Blue waking up, and glad when she heard some shuffling.

"They're, or we're the most unique creatures in the whole of existence. Zenith Omnidonae are a selective group of Infinite-Dimensional Entities who were chosen by the ZOF to wield infinite power in an endlessly self-transcending variant. Essentially, we can wield omnipotent logic manipulation on a Triple O scale at varying degrees. Some of the lesser Zenith Omnidonae have absolute power over a finite number of alternate Omega Omnispheres... whereas the strongest of us, known as the ZOF Masters; can bend the Triple O itself to our every whim. As I told you, I'm the strongest ZOF Master that I know of, and the only one capable of bypassing the divide between alternate Triple O's and even T Triple O's. But it's not something I tend to make a habit of being arrogant over; I deal with the burden of every being in every Omni Omega Omnisphere aspiring to be me and to gun for my position and all the things I worked so hard to accomplish. Besides, you don't prove anything by showing off a lot of special powers, a Zenith Omnidony's strength, much like that of a Pokémon's... comes from the heart." Ash sagely indulged her curiosity; speaking slowly so as not to overwhelm her and feeling his heart flood with warmth when Yellow smiled admiringly at him.

"Well said, that last bit was... really profound." She complimented him, and his face burned without his permission.

"When you've lived as long as I have; you pick things up." He chuckled dismissively.

"I can imagine." Yellow agreed simply, and Ash nodded with a smile, glad he and the pretty blonde mortal were on the same page.

"Morning you two, Blue will be with us in a bit. I'll never understand why girls take so long to get ready." Red yawned as he walked into the kitchen clad only in his boxer shorts and looked questioningly at an untouched pair of bowls filled with cereal marshmallows. Yellow blushed profusely at his exposed upper body; knowing he tended to sleep only in boxers and having seen it all before, but it still got her hot and bothered every time.

"Are those Enigma Berries?" he idly wondered, and Yellow responded before Ash could.

"Yes, Ash made us all breakfast. Try it Red, that stuff is so good." Yellow cooed softly, and Ash caught himself wondering how someone could be so Goddamn cute. He wasn't sure what to make of it, all that time spent looking for an ESIT Eternal Bond Mate in the previous T Triple O; only for him to start feeling the effects of one happening _now_?! It was like a kick to the face, and he wished he had thought to do this ages ago, having skated by on the brief and emotionless sexual encounters he had in every Triple O's mightiest ZOF goddesses until now.

Red nodded stiffly while working out the kinks in his neck and back and took a bowl of cereal into the guest room. "He takes a while to wake up, but I bet his Pokémon are brimming with excitement at the thought of battling you. So, what's your game plan Ash?" Yellow asked him, not expecting an immediate and specific response, but that was what she got.

"Raichu, Infernape, Krookodile, Sceptile, Greninja, and Omneon. That will be my six-Pokémon team for this battle, and Omneon will be my only UV based Pokémon that I use in this fight." Ash told her in a no-nonsense tone, and Yellow couldn't help but appreciate his straightforwardness in his reply.

"Omneon, I've never heard of that Pokémon. What is it, an Eeveelution?" She continued his 411.

"Yep, a very special one actually." He mysteriously whispered, upping her intrigue by eleven.

"Really? How so?" She queried, and Ash smirked teasingly at her.

"You'll see in the battle." He told her without giving anything away, making her pout.

"You sure there's nothing I can do to persuade you to tell me more right now?" Yellow teased back, and Ash's smirk grew a tad feral.

"There are things you could do, but I seriously doubt you'd be willing to do them." He grinned, surprising himself with the fact that he was flirting quite overtly with the blonde; causing her eyes to widen at the hidden innuendo and her whole upper body to flush.

"Sorry." He added afterward upon seeing her flustered demeanor, but to his joy she recovered quickly and grinned right back at him.

"You let me worry about what I'm willing to do or not do Casanova." She wittingly retorted, and Ash had to admit he was impressed. Clearly, underestimating her would be a costly mistake to most people.

"Oh, so there's a Casanova in this universe. That's interesting. I'm curious how his history might differ from that of his prime world counterpart, or what his relationships with his female Pokémon were like; though I don't really care enough to bother finding out." Ash rambled airily, and just like that their playful banter ended for the time being.

"So, are we going to do this or what? Red brought me up to speed last night while we talked, and I gotta say... I understand why he's skeptical." Blue spoke up suddenly, startling Yellow with her otherwise silent arrival in her kitchen and fully dressed much to the blonde's relief.

"I can understand it to. You must be Blue then I take it, its nice to meet you, I'm Ash Ketchum." the Triple O Champion introduced himself, and Blue shook the hand he offered her as she grabbed a seat and joined them for breakfast without even asking if the fourth and final bowl of cereal was for her. She dug in happily, silently impressed by Ash's choice and his inclusion of Enigma Berries to make up for all the lost nutritional value.

"Eat up you guys, and Red, I really hope you have a game plan going into this match, because I sure as hell do." Ash called to the other male in the next room.

"Don't worry, you'll get your fill man; I was up all night brainstorming ideas with Blue... among other things." Red called back, causing Blue to blush profusely and Yellow to quirk an eyebrow.

"You two didn't..." the blonde paused, unable to even finish the thought aloud as Blue shook her head.

"We only kissed and cuddled a little bit; nothing too bad Yellow." She stammered reassuringly.

"Okay, I believe you Blue." Yellow said with a smile, and Blue felt tremendously relieved.

"You're lucky Red's such a gentleman Yellow; because believe me, I wanted it to go further." Blue admitted completely unabashedly, seemingly not caring that Ash was in the room and feeding his Raichu some extra Enigma berries under the table.

"We'll be waiting for you guys outside. I was thinking we could do this just outside." Ash announced as he stood up from his seat and Raichu automatically scurried up onto his shoulder from under the table and sat perfectly perched there.

Yellow immediately started, "Um, sorry Ash, but no dice. Viridian Forest has been a battleground and war zone too many times for my liking. Could we maybe do this someplace else, it took years for the forest to heal from the last crisis in Kanto and my fate is tied to these woods and their current state." She requested politely, but in a strong voice that left very little room for argument.

To her surprise, Ash smiled reassuringly at her. "If it's that important to you, then I can transport us anywhere else in the world you guys like; hell, if you ask nicely enough I'll find us someplace off world even, but I have ways of allowing us to battle without leaving or damaging the forest in any way. If you trust me enough, I can arrange for some altercation of reality to transport us to an infinite pocket universe; one out of sync with the forest entirely. If you like Yellow, I can also sever your symbiotic ties to Viridian forest while still allowing you to keep your powers; that way you don't have to worry about the state of your home affecting your very physiological well being, not that I'll allow any damage to the forest in any case." He spoke in a comforting tone, and Yellow reluctantly decided to trust him.

"Okay, but you have to swear to me that if any damage happens, you'll fix it immediately." Yellow said, refusing to budge from her spot until she extracted this promise from him.

"Of course, you have my word Yellow." Ash promised her, and the Healer beamed at him.

"You mean you actually believe he can do all those things?" Blue looked at Yellow like she was crazy, who nodded without any hesitation.

"I don't see the logic in making such a ridiculous lie Blue, besides... we've been through some pretty weird stuff the last few years." Yellow replied. Both girls were startled when Ash and Raichu literally vanished from the kitchen in a whirl of speed; displacing the air where he once stood with enough force to pop both of their ears and make them scream.

Once they recovered from the shock of seeing Ash literally move at superhuman speeds; Blue gazed at Yellow with wide eyes while the physically smaller girl merely smirked in satisfaction at being right about their world's visitor.

XXXXX

Red and Pika gazed stupidly at the spatially distorted battlefield Ash had literally created and transported them all to, unable to wrap their heads around it. Supposedly, they'd never even left the forest, yet their surroundings looked entirely different. They were in a dome of sorts comprised entirely of pure energy and expanding infinitely in all directions aside from the floor which was only absolute in its width.

Blue and Yellow stood off to the side of the field and looked upon the Celestial display of lights, stars, and pure cosmic energy that made up this shell all around them; their faces expressing their immeasurable shock at the sudden displacement of the forest by this amazing place. Yellow's psychic senses were blaring almost out of control upon detecting the energy all around them, and she fought to reign herself in and remain fixed on the battling field before her surroundings drove her mad.

"This is crazy! I think I'm starting to believe in him now Yellow!" Blue whispered in an emphatic exclamation, and Yellow could only nod in agreement; stunned to the point of incoherent speechlessness.

"This battle will be a full 6 vs 6 Pokémon match, and the battle will be over when all six Pokémon on either side are unable to continue. Do you accept these terms Red?" Ash called out to his opponent, who nodded with an eager smile; opting not to focus on Ash's bunker or whatever this was for now and just see what he could do on the battlefield.

"I accept, now let's do this! I'll start with Pika." Red said as his Pikachu jumped down onto the stadium floor in front of his Trainer from the top of his capped head. He was expecting Ash to start off with his Raichu and was interested in seeing how he and Pika stacked up to them, and since Ash had taken the liberty of healing his Pokémon last night his Team was just itching to get started. Ash's increase of their power-levels by 500 percent had since worn off; as stat boosters often do when a Pokémon is recalled, but they were still at their optimum levels of performance without having to go to the PC and Red could feel their anticipation building.

He was surprised when Ash didn't summon Raichu onto the field, having seen the curious way in which he did so and wanting to see where his Pokémon came from; especially since Red's opponent had no Pokeballs of his own anywhere on his person.

"Omneon IBIB, I summon you to the battlefield; now tear it up and show our opponents the true meaning of power." Ash declared in a dynamic pose while raising his right hand high above his head and then angling it down to by his side; like a flag waver. Yellow watched with anticipation, curious to see the unheard of Eeveelution while Blue merely sat on confusedly.

Red and Pika were confused to, but didn't have to wait very long as a massive multicolored portal opened up in the warped space behind Ash and something exited it and landed on the battlefield between Pika and the self proclaimed Deity. It looked like a strange mix of all the Eeveelutions, inheriting certain traits from all of them such as Jolteon's sleek swiftness, Vaporeon's naturally healthy and vigorous sheen, Sylveon's ribbons, Flareon's physical prowess and lean musculature, and Eevee's natural cuteness and fur to name a few. Her fur was a glittering, iridescent white that was delicately tinged with every color in the visible spectrum.

She gave off an aura of immense power and radiated energy from all the Eeveelutions various types at once; the air around her was hot like a heat wave, humid like a Misty Terrain, and overcharged with static electricity all at once, and though Red couldn't sense it... Yellow felt a Fairy Aura coming off her as well. There were other energy signatures mixed in as well that the blonde could only somewhat identify as being all the known Pokémon types and more besides.

"Omne, Omneon." The Eeveelution purred cutely, looking at once extremely happy to have been chosen for this match and not too surprised when her powers lowered themselves to match MV strengths and mechanics. Her Trainer had taught them to fight as well with power limiters as they did without them; to the point where Ash was the undisputed Triple O Champion in both UV and Multiversal terms. She loved, honored, and respected her Trainer for all he had accomplished and done for them all; he had lead them to victory time and time again and she had little doubt he'd do so again in this match.

"Ash, she's beautiful!" Yellow couldn't help but announce plainly in awe, causing the very special Eeveelution to blush at her gushing praise and Ash to grin with pride for his Pokémon.

"Thanks Yellow... She's Raichu's ESIT Eternal Bond Mate." He responded merrily before returning his full attention to the battle. Yellow remembered their conversation about the ESIT from before, and nearly teared up at the thought of this Pokémon and Raichu being able to bond on that level. Once again, she felt envious of Ash's race for being able to get that intimately close with someone. Blue merely gazed onward in confusion and decided to simply enjoy the battle, and Red was just getting over his shock at the prospect of a Pokémon he'd never seen before just randomly popping onto the Battlefield. He had no idea what to expect from her, and could tell Pika felt the same way; he supposed he could open up with something like Thunder Wave and hope it paralyzes her. Even if she had an ability like Magic Bounce, which some Espeon did... Pika couldn't be paralyzed by any Electric-type attack.

"Thunder Wave into Volt Tackle, let's go." Red commanded first, deciding to take the plunge and get things moving as Raichu fired off a wave of yellow Electricity which proceeded the yellow mouse Pokémon as he darted across the terrain while coated in pure electric power. The familiar adrenaline rush that accompanies a battle surged through all four combatants' bodies, and Ash dynamically thrust his fist into the air as he initiated his and Omneon's counter measures.

"Alright, Let's use Extreme Evoboost." Ash commanded while Raichu cheered his girlfriend on from the sidelines; an action that had both Yellow and Blue gushing fondly at the pair. Omneon nodded with an unnervingly confident smirk as Pika's Thunder Wave did indeed bounce harmlessly off her and the diamond shaped gem attached to the bracelet on Ash's right hand started to glow with kaleidoscopic lights.

Red and Pika gasped as a wave of unknown energy radiated off of Ash and connected to his Pokémon; while Ash did the Eevium Z battling pose, which was the same as the Normalium Z's. The surprise of what they were doing caused Pika to back off before his Volt Tackle could hit; not wanting to take a chance with an unknown as Omneon disappeared in a whirl of speed and reappeared on top of Ash's head before jumping down in front of him once again.

What was more surprising to the Dexholders was the avatars of all the Eeveelutions and Eevee alike appearing in a circle around Omneon and firing beams of various colors at their fellow evolution Pokémon. When the lights died down enough for Red and Pika to see their opponents clearly again; they saw Omneon reemerge in a dazzling display of multiple glowing downs covering her body; each one a different color and indicating a sharp boost to a different stat.

"Shit, he just sharply boosted every single one of her stats; her defenses, offenses, speed... everything." Red grit out in frustration, impressed despite himself even while knowing this just got ten times harder, and being unable to hit her with status moves was real irksome as well.

"What... Was that?" Yellow asked dazedly once she recovered her wits; while Blue merely struck a thinking pose.

"I remember overhearing a conversation between Blue and Professor Oak; about something called Z-Moves in the faraway Alola Region. Like a Mega Ring, it uses a bracelet and some special stones, but Z-Moves don't change the Pokémon's type or appearance and are essentially extremely upgraded versions of regular moves. There's a Z-Move for very move type and a Z version of every status move. Extreme Evoboost I think is Eevee's signature Z-Move, and can boost all of its stats like what we just witnessed. I wasn't aware this Eeveelution could use it to, and as far as I knew before this match only Eevee could use it... none of its evolved forms should be able to." Blue informed her knowledgeably, and Ash smirked at that.

"Under normal conditions you'd be right there Blue, but Omneon is aptly named; she can do everything the other Eeveelutions and Eevee can do and do them better a lot of the time. She's also a combination of every existing Pokémon type and has Meta Ability Emulation for her special ability, allowing her to trace and copy any 5 existing Pokémon abilities in any Triple O and beyond. Regardless of whether they're unique to a certain Pokémon world; Omneon can have any in battle ability she or I want her too, and for this battle I've chosen Magic Bounce, Adaptability, Clear Body, Lightning Rod, and Air Lock." Ash informed them, much to the chagrin of Red and and everyone else present.

"That's nuts... how can a Pokémon have five abilities?!" Red exclaimed inquiringly, astonishment surging through him as the battle took a slight pause and he and Pika contemplated their options. He realized that not only were electric-type moves useless against her, but Omneon also couldn't have her boosted stats lowered, be crippled by status, or be effected by weather changes. On top of that, Adaptability made all of her STAB moves much more powerful. There was one way he could lower Omneon's boosted stats, but it required a successful Haze from his Poli the Poliwrath.

"Hang on, if Omneon is an all-type Pokémon or whatever, then does that mean _all_ her moves get STAB and Adaptability boosts regardless of their typing?" Yellow quickly deduced a second before Red could, her eyes wide with incredulity at how powerful Ash's Pokémon was now.

"Very good Yellow, I was wondering if you guys would catch on to that. Yes, Omneon is the most powerful of all the Eeveelutions in the whole of creation; mine is the strongest of her species and while we may have only won about half the battles we fought together, we picked up a thing or two along the way." Ash told them all, eager to stop talking and continue the battle as Red decided to do the smart thing and recalled Pika.

"Sorry buddy, but I want you in reserve against a Pokémon you can hit with your Electric-type moves." Red told him as Pika nodded understandingly and ran back to Red's side as his Trainer fingered another of his Pokeballs. His decision now settled on Poli the Poliwrath, Red thrust the Pokeball of his very first Pokémon into the air and saw him materialize in a sphere of white light.

"Poli, set up with Belly Drum and use Protect to shield from enemy attacks while doing so." Red commanded the same combination attack he used to sweep most of Yellow's team the previous day. The thing about Protect is it got harder to use consecutively, but the first time it was used it could protect the Pokémon for up to thirty seconds or so from most attacks, more than enough time to set up a fast Belly Drum. He knew using Haze would reset Poli's heightened stats unless he could fire it far enough away from his body; luckily, he trained the Water and Fighting-type for exactly that purpose. Ash grinned like he was hoping Red would try to set up, and to everyone's shock his Z-Ring started glowing again.

"You set up as well Omneon; use Extreme Evoboost twice more." Ash commanded, executing that very same dance at a superfast pace; two times consecutively. The Avatars of the Eeveelutions appeared again, but this time there was a pair of each of them, two of Eevee and all its evolved forms fired beams of multicolored lights at Omneon. As Red and Poli finished setting up Belly Drum for max attack investment and depleted health; Omneon finished executing the duo pair of Extreme Evoboost Z-Moves for plus six in all her stats.

"Not good, really not good!" Red cursed his bad luck, wishing he hadn't given Ash the opening to set up two more Extreme Evoboosts but realizing he couldn't have known that Z-Moves were able to be spammed.

Blue's eyes widened with apprehension as she turned to Yellow who remained oblivious to the marvel they'd just witnessed. "I believe you now Yellow; that he's more than he appears. The amount of energy required to do one Z-Move is immense; there's no way _any_ human could have done it three times in a single match like Ash did. The amount of energy needed to spam them like that... it's astronomical, and he doesn't even look like it fazed him!" Blue whispered to her friend, and Yellow saw Ash in a different light.

She already believed in him, but seeing such overwhelming evidence to support his proclamations of Godhood gave her a sense of extreme satisfaction. Red was always after her not to be so naive and believe in someone without proof to support that person's claims, but now she could proudly say she'd been right about Ash all along. She may have thought him a little bit lightning-addled at first, but she was the first to believe him, and she was right. She wasn't intending to gloat about it, but maybe now Red wouldn't be so quick to question her judgment of a person's innate character.

"Nice work Ash, you and Omneon have set the stage perfectly." Yellow cheered for him in a zeal of passion. She normally rooted for Red during matches such as this, but Ash and Omneon were perfectly set to start clean sweeping and she couldn't help but get caught up in the spirit and enthusiasm the two of them exuded.

"Moon Blast barrage Omneon!" Ash shouted with another dynamic fist pump as an avatar of the moon appeared above Omneon and dozens upon dozens of blinding orbs of pink light blitzed towards Poli in every direction he could've run to.

"Quick Poli, use Haze and then Protect in combination, and make sure you use Protect after the first move is well away from you." Red instructed while Ash whistled appreciatively. Red's Poli was able to make full use of Protect without the succession failure rate being an issue; his combination moves were impressive. However, if Red thought resetting Omneon's stats was going to be that easy, then he had another thing coming. The Poliwrath was encapsulated in a green sphere of energy and the first dozen or so Fairy-type attacks collided with it in an onslaught of meteoric crashes; as though the countless moons from across the universe were raining down on him in a Celestial blaze of glory from the heavens.

The Protective barrier just barely held on, but the attacks still reverberated off of it in a long, gong-like note; an oddly chilling sound that sent shivers up Yellow and Blue's spines. Red was floored by the pure devastating power that super Eeveelution possessed, and some insane part of his brain told him this was just the tiniest taste of what his opponents were truly capable of. For the first time, he found himself almost daring to believe Ash and his Pokémon were Gods; if they weren't... they were by far the strongest opponent Red had ever faced.

"Now… use Psychic to control the remaining Moon Blast, and disperse the Haze by rotating your ribbons at super speed." Ash rapidly devised a countermeasure, and Omneon immediately complied while seizing control of her pink orb with an outline of blue psychic energy. As the Moon Blast halted in midair; Poli's hold over his Protect attack began to fail and Omneon started rotating her Sylveon-like ribbons like a series of helicopter blades out in front of her.

The timing was perfect, the gust of wind blew the Haze attack back to whence it came at much greater velocities than before, engulfing Poli in a plume of purplish smoke that lowered its max attack stat back to its base levels. The Haze attack cleared along with Poli's Protect, just in time to catch the blast from the single remaining Moon Blast that Omneon had kept in suspended animation while waiting for this very opportunity to strike.

The structural integrity of the dome must have been infinite, because the way that Moon Blast shook the very foundations of it would have shaken anything less than that apart. Poli was catapulted 20 feet into the air and landed in a sorry looking heap well behind Red, swirly eyed and knocked out colder than cold. There had been no scream of pain, just an instant KO, and Red felt the seeds of worry sowing inside him as he ran to check on his first Pokémon partner.

"Poli! Are you okay buddy?!" He cried out worriedly, while Yellow and Blue both looked on with concern. Blue had half a mind to shout at Ash for going so overkill with that attack, but settled for running out onto the field to check on Red and Poli instead. Taking this first round of the battle as a small timeout, Ash sat down in a meditative pose with Raichu congratulating his mate for the win in front of him.

Yellow's eyes narrowed as she made her way over to them, unable to believe how anyone could be so nonchalant when someone's Pokémon could be seriously hurt. As a person who hated to see her Pokémon get hurt, Yellow couldn't stand it anymore and she didn't hesitate to make this pointedly clear. "How can you just sit there and be so chill like there's nothing wrong?! Poli could've been seriously hurt!" She demanded furiously, and Ash lifted his hands in a placating gesture.

"Whoa, relax already Yellow; no excessive harm has been done to Poli, I can promise you that. It looks bad yes, but that was the point of this battle; once Red realizes I arranged for life support and battle damage suppression he'll no longer be as shaken up. This first bout was merely a demonstration if you will, but beyond being one hit KO-ed; Poli has not suffered any injuries whatsoever. Think of it like him being put on some mild Anastasia, the attacks will still have the knock out effect and everything if they're powerful enough to knock our Pokémon out, but it's literally impossible for us to injure or badly hurt one another.

We can tire one another out and make each other dizzy and such, but beyond that… Just trust me okay." Ash explained reassuringly to her. Yellow stared at the man in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard; from what Ash told her, his dome allowed for an almost completely harmless form of battling to take place, something she would've given anything to have at one time. She felt her respect for him grow immensely in those moments, and allowed herself a dazzling smile despite being furious at him only moments before.

While Ash and Yellow conversed on one side of the dome, Blue made her way over to Red and an unconscious Polly and put her hand on his shoulder; giving it a soothing squeeze. "Hey, is Poli okay?" She softly whispered, wanting to be there for emotional support in case Poli was truly hurt. She couldn't believe Ash right now; how could Red's opponent so callously flout the fact that Poli could've been seriously hurt, or worse?

There was a difference between friendly battles and a bloody death match, and that last attack was powerful enough that it could've been fatal. Just as she was prepared to march back over to Ash and give him a piece of her mind, Poli groaned and sat up, sounding more like he was a little achy than in excruciating agony. To say both Red and Blue were surprised by his complete lack of any injuries would've been an understatement, but Blue wasn't about to complain about how lucky they were.

"Poli, thank goodness you're okay. I don't understand though, how could an attack like that not have injured you even slightly?" Red pondered the enigma standing in front of them while Blue merely glared in Ash's direction.

"He's okay you guys, you're bloody lucky he wasn't seriously injured you know Ash." Blue called after the man, who sat there smiling with seemingly inappropriate serenity. Even Yellow looked extremely pleased by whatever they had been discussing, and she was happily humming a little tune under her breath.. Blue's eyes narrowed at his response.

"Actually, it wasn't luck." He said mysteriously. Blue was running severely low on her reservoir of patience, and was just about to demand an elaboration on that statement when he beat her to it.

"I planned the whole thing you guys, I knew my Pokémon could control their powers to an art form if need be, but just in case... I also arranged for a battle damage suppression field to be worked into this dome I created. Basically, our Pokémon will never be able to take any dangerous amounts of damage because the field I created disrupts the flow of energy in our traded attacks before they can hurt our Pokémon to any serious degree.

In the extremely unlikely event that the level of damage exceeds the suppression field's capacity, I've also built healing properties and unrestricted resurrection powers of all kinds into the dome as well; ones proportionate to the magnitude of my own abilities. One could literally bring a Pokémon back from the dead in here if need be. You'll soon see that I can do things you humans can't even begin to imagine." Ash explained to them with such otherworldly calm that nobody could find it in themselves to doubt his words anymore. Even the ever skeptical Red had limits to his unacceptance of Ash's capabilities.

The implications of what he could do finally began to sink in as Blue feared for the sake of their world if he ever turned on them. It suddenly occurred to her that if he ever acted against their best interests; there wasn't a force on this earth that could stand up to him. She didn't want to feel afraid of him when he seemed to be a genuinely nice person, but all-powerful beings were not the kind of thing their world was built to handle; she couldn't help feeling scared.

Red's entire worldview changed in those moments, the thought of Pokémon becoming supreme examples of their species a foreign concept until today. He'd seen some pretty messed up shit over the years, but this one topped them all. Yellow was the only one among them who seemed neither scared or majorly mind fucked; she did wonder however, how and why it was so easy for her to accept everything he was.

That wasn't to say she wasn't nervous of him, she certainly was to a degree, but beyond that she wanted to get inside that head of his and see what made people like him tick. The very idea that there could be anyone like him out there fascinated her beyond reason, and like a person who was given clues to unraveling the secrets of the universe; she wanted to see where this journey with Ash led.

"If you wish to withdraw from our match for now Red, you're more than welcome to battle me again later when you've managed to process all of this; just know that no harm will ever come to our Pokémon whilst we are battling each other." Ash promised him.

"Withdraw?! Are you kidding?! I've never forfeited a match in my damn life, and I don't intend to start now! Let's keep going!" Red declared resolutely.

"Wait, Red, are you sure about this?" Blue nervously queried.

"Sure I'm sure, this guy doesn't scare me! If he was going to do us harm Blue he could've very easily done so by now! So far, his actions don't portray a man with hostile intentions towards our world, and I doubt any of us could stop him if he did have hostility towards us. So, if you ask me... there's no point in worrying about it.

If he's good he's good, but if he's bad then we're all dead anyways; so, I say we finish our match and see if he can beat me when we're battling on my world's terms." Red responded lengthily, laughing hysterically at the enormous incredulity of this situation. The world truly must be mad if it attracted the attention of this sublime figure; the red eyed, raven haired teen would be better off if he went along with it in any case.

Ash's answering grin was maddening, "The T Triple O's I created was mad long before I showed up here officially! Let our battle continue! Omneon, you're on my darling!" He declared with the slightest zest of insanity bleeding through in his voice. Yellow face-palmed at his antics, wondering to herself where she found guys like this as she and Blue made their way back to the sidelines of the stadium; watching from a safe distance.

Omneon had been off with Raichu playing in the farther reaches of the dome, but instantly reappeared on the stadium upon hearing her name called, Raichu not a split-second behind her. She could feel that her triple set of Extreme Evoboosts were still in effect, and while nowhere near her Triple O Champion levels of power, they were most impressive by any non UV standards.

"Omneon!" She cried out with glee, eager to get the battle back on and tapping a four-beat rhythm with her front paws on the faintly glowing floor of the dome.

Red knew his chances of success against that Omneon were minimal at best, but he couldn't give up without at least trying to take her down. He had to admit it hurt his rock hard pride to know he'd never be as powerful as this guy and his team; he could train, train, and train some more until his heart exploded, and it wouldn't make a damn difference. Still, he was the one who challenged his opponent in the hopes of exposing him as a false God; now it seemed Ash had turned the tables on him.

He was caught in an unwinnable situation; there was no way he could realistically expect his team to pull out a win. Still, he wouldn't be Red if he wasn't tenacious until the bitter end, and if he was to go down he'd do so in a blaze of glory. He'd go down fighting, and would do his damnedest to take as many of Ash's Pokémon down with him before he did so.

"Lax, you're up buddy!" Red released his Snorlax next, deciding to go straight on the offensive.

" _Snorlax, Snore_ ," The sleeping Pokémon said his name, determined to carry his own weight, however immense it was. He gave a single, tumultuous stomp with each foot that would have the world's strongest sumo wrestling humans quivering with apprehension, and which shook the very earth beneath their feet.

"Heavy Slam, let's go!" He commanded, hoping to rack up the damage enough to at least take that Omneon down. Lax hastened to carry out his Trainer's wishes and jumped straight up while a metallic sheen covered his body. He did a complete downward turn in midair and catapulted straight at Omneon, ready to slam into her with the full force of a freight train.

"Protect Omneon, and then use Hyper Voice!" Ash countered their every move with practiced ease as a much brighter green sphere than Poli's Protect attack shielded Omneon from harm and the giant Snorlax ricocheted harmlessly off of it like a rubber ball bouncing off the walls. The strength of the shield was rendered almost impenetrable by the Omneon's maximum defensive stat boosts. Just as Lax rolled like a bowling ball to Red's side of the field, Omneon released an ear-splitting cry that created a solid mass of sound waves.

The Omni-directional concussive burst reverberated across the entire cupola, hitting Lax with the full force of a plus six boosted special attacking move. Lax was thrown clear off his feet and landed with a dull thud at Red's feet, and it was only because of the Snorlax's immense bulk that he just barely managed to tank the hit. And even then, his health meter displayed itself as a zero and he was already teetering back and forth; clearly on his last legs.

Red gritted his teeth at the immense power that Omneon possessed; there was no way he was getting past her, let alone Ash's entire team... unless. An idea struck him, and he quickly pulled Lax's Pokeball back out and recalled him in a beam of red light.

"Aero, I need your assistance!" Red announced while lobbing the Aerodactyl's Pokeball into the air and watching it split open on the ground. A few seconds later, and the resurrected fossil Pokémon flapped his mighty wings with confidence and power. " _Aerrrrooooooooo_ ," The prehistoric Pokémon gave a ghastly wail that would've had many Pokémon running for the hills. Red knew there were two moves up Aero's sleeve that could turn the tide; but he'd have to make sure Omneon couldn't KO him before he could use them.

"Omneon, use Psychic," Ash commanded, and Red hid a smile. ' _Gotcha_!' he declared inwardly, before he ordered his next combination of attacks.

"Use Protect, then banish Omneon with Roar!" Red commanded with glee, unable to believe he was going to be able to eliminate those stat boosts and get rid of Omneon temporarily at the same time.

He was so caught up in his excitement; he completely missed the subtle traces of a smile on Ash's face. The familiar green sphere materialized around the formerly extinct Pokémon, successfully blocking the Psychic attack attempting to claw its way to Red's signature Flying-type. Aero tucked his wings in and inhaled a massive gulp of air, only to release a truly terrifying roar in Omneon's direction. Unfortunately for Red and Aero, they forgot one crucial detail, and it resulted in the Roar attack reflecting off of Omneon's Magic Bounce and hitting the Aerodactyl instead; immediately dematerializing him in a beam of light that shot inside of the Pokeball Red captured him in.

"Shit! I completely forgot about Magic Bounce!" Red swore, feeling his personal high ebbing away the second he saw his strategy backfire.

Blue and Yellow continued to watch the battle with utter fascination. "So Magic Bounce even works against moves like Roar and Whirlwind? Wow, that's rough! Red's getting his butt kicked out there." Yellow whispered to Blue, the brunette only able to nod in awed silence.

"That was a valiant effort there Red, but Magic Bounce reflects nearly every status move out there. You pretty much lost your chance of eliminating my Omneon's stat changes when your only Haze user bit the dust. If you want to beat her, you need a new strategy!" Ash called out to him, having already proven his point regarding his powers and partly wishing Red wouldn't continue dragging this out. Still, he had to respect the red-eyed man's tenacity; he adamantly refused to give in until the fight was truly lost.

"Alright Saur, you're on my old friend." Red stated determinedly, lobbing his trusted Venesaur's Pokeball into the air and watching it release the Grass and Poison-type in an orb of light. Saur gave a mighty stamping of his feet and planted them firmly in the unusual ground of this battling dome they were in; not questioning who they were facing or why they were where they were… only acknowledging this was a friendly but intense match. He felt determination fill him to win this match for Red, and gave a loud battle cry as he stamped his big feet challengingly once more.

"That's a sturdy looking Pokémon Red, and you've trained your team very, very well. You have every right to be proud of them, and no matter the end result of our battle you guys can hold your heads high. Honestly, suffering a defeat at my hands is nothing to be all bent out of shape over; I honestly question whether this is actually a fair fight. Even with my Pokémon's powers limiters in place; I still have some extremely… unnatural advantages, and I can't help but feel bad for accepting your challenge now." Ash admitted guiltily, causing Red to look down in remorse; hating that his situation was making Ash feel bad. He was actually enjoying this fight if he was being honest, and one thing he knew for sure was that wherever his opponent got that diamond shaped gemstone; he bloody well wanted one of his own.

"Hey, don't blame yourself too much man; I was the one who challenged you… remember!" Red reminded him, able to just barely make out the traces of a smile on Ash's face from across the field.

"Yes, but I agreed; I figured it was the best way to validate myself and my capabilities to you all, and now that I've done that… I can't help feeling like a bully for dragging this fight on and smashing your team around like it's going out of style." Ash rebutted Red's initial argument, but to both their surprise Yellow piped up.

"Will you stop already?! God Ash, look… I've been paying attention this whole fight and I can honestly tell you that Red gave you the opening you needed to set up all three of those Extreme Evoboosts when he used his Protect and Belly Drum combo together with Poli. Trainers use Protect to set up stat boosters all the time or they set up while their opponent is setting up. You just had the better set up method, that's all, not to mention the better-rounded stat booster; so stop feeling like a bully and finish this fight already.

What you're doing as a strategy has been done before and it is a perfectly accepted fighting method in all the official tournaments. Maybe Red will take this as a lesson to not let you and Omneon set up those ridiculously strong set of stat boosts next time. Right now though, you have the perfect stage set, and it would be a waste to throw this match for the sake of sparing Red's pride." Yellow explained to him with mild exasperation. Ash couldn't help but smile at the girl's insight; Yellow was surprisingly wise beyond her tender human years.

"Damn! You tell him girl, when a woman wants you to listen to what they have to say… they make sure you're damn well attentive!" Blue smugly proclaimed with pride for her friend, causing Yellow to flush sheepishly.

"I just wanted to reassure him he wasn't being a bully!" She stammered in that cute, shy voice of hers Ash was growing increasingly fond of the last day or so.

Ash felt better about his situation now and opted to carry on the fight no matter what his moral compass said. It would have been different if he was battling Red with his Legendaries or with his team's full IBIB powers in place, but he wasn't, and that made the fight perfectly fair.

"Alright, time to use an offensive Z-Move. Go, Omneon, let us shatter our opponents psyche and open their minds to our peerless strength. _USE SHATTERED PSYCHE_!" Ash IC2 roared with pure power, his Z-Crystal glowing with a pinkish light as the space of the dome around them warped to something right out of a movie about outer space. Red and Saur didn't wait around to see what that move did, and the Pallet Town prodigy ordered a Protect from him as quickly as possible.

Saur was almost instantaneous to respond, and conjured the familiar green shield just as Omneon's Z-Move took effect and the Venesaur was thrust around inside of the psychic Z-Space like a pinball, shield and all; hitting walls of solid psychic energy and bouncing around at ever increasing speeds. Finally, just when Red thought he'd get motion sick from following Saur's involuntary movements, he hit one final wall of pure energy with a resounding crash, and the wall of psychic energy was shattered by the impact of the Grass-type's body hitting it; bringing down the entire Z-Space while he was at it.

Saur was launched into the ground at terminal velocity, landing hard on the unyielding ground of the dome yet only suffering enough damage to knock him out in one blow. Red reeled back with shock upon finding yet another of his Pokémon fainted at the hands of that Omneon despite using Protect; wondering how he was going to counter its sheer might when an answer literally came to him, and he chose one of his newer Pokémon from his belt.

"Weavile, I need you buddy!" Red called out one of the Pokémon he caught during his journey in Sinnoh. He may not have been a professional Pokémon catcher like Crystal, but he got by just fine. And this Pokémon in particular may have been the key to him beating that Omneon, maybe even clinching the match; if he played his cards right.

"Use Double Team and Protect for coverage, then copy Omneon's stat boost with Psych Up!" Red ordered quickly, and Ash's eyes widened with horror as he learned what Red planned to do. Red never had any need to use Psych Up like this before, and he prayed to Arceus that it worked. He'd swapped Weavile with the Nidoking he used against Yellow last night purely on a whim, using his Pokedex to instantly transport his Poison/Ground-type in the PC; he never imagined Weavile could turn out to be his salvation. If Weavile could pull this off, he may have ended up securing a place for himself on Red's A Team; this would work, it had to work.

"I forgot Red had a Weavile; he never used it in our battle!" Yellow remarked, and Blue nodded.

"He must have switched Pokémon this morning using his Pokedex!" Blue replied, impressed by the ingenuity of Red's strategy. Few Trainers out there could make proper use out of Psych Up, but she had full confidence in Red and Weavile to do so.

Weavile, true to the speed of his species, complied with astonishing speed; summoning a vast army of illusory copies of himself and having them all imitate his use of the move Protect. For what seemed the umpteenth time that day, the green sphere appeared around all of the copies and Weavile alike; confusing Omneon as they all ran at her in unison.

"Use Power Trip on all of them!" Ash exclaimed in a slight panic, and Red's eyes widened for a second; before he recovered and threw Ash a grin. Weavile had already successfully used Psych Up and copied all of Omneon's Stat Boosts. At this rate, even a move like Power Trip would only do so much damage, and against a Dark-type; it would do even less damage still.

"Um, what attack was Power Trip again?" Yellow wondered, having yet to come across it in her battles and still refining her knowledge and skills.

"It's a Dark-type move, and its power increases for every stat boost a Pokémon using it has. You know how moves have a certain amount of natural oomph to them even before things like STAB and the Pokémon using them are taken into account; well Power Trip's natural base power is one that isn't fixed. It starts out at a base power of 1, and increases by approximately 20 percent for every stat boost." Blue explained as Yellow quickly did the math in her head.

"That's a base power of 600 after three Extreme Evoboosts, Blue; that's nuts. That's like getting hit by a black hole!" Yellow gasped in unbridled awe, and Blue giggled at her friend's enthusiasm.

"I'm kind of surprised Omneon can use it actually; Power Trip is potentially the most naturally powerful of all Dark-type moves. I wonder what else Ash and Omneon have up their sleeve." Blue grinned at the prospect, wondering how she would fair against him compared to her boyfriend and wanting to see how Red's strategy penned out.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield; Omneon's feelers whipped out at breakneck speeds and swatted away one Double Team duplicate after another while exuding unimaginable, dark-type menace and glowing with an aura blacker than polished obsidian. All the Weavile clones faded away and the original was nowhere to be seen; resulting in Ash and Omneon tensing in their posture and readying a counterattack to any unseen assault.

"Be ready Omneon, time to put that impressive bulk of yours to use." Ash shouted with an excited gleam in his eyes. This match just got extremely interesting, and it was only because of his powers that he was able to follow Weavile's lightning fast movements as he carried out Red's next command.

" _PUNISHMENT WEAVILE, FULL BLAST_ ," Red roared emphatically at the top of his lungs, imploring Weavile to win with every ounce of his battling spirit. Weavile complied with such rapidity that even Omneon's plus-6-speed-stat could no longer match it; smashing the Eeveelution with his clawed hands for all he was worth while giving off an overpowering aura of darkness seemingly drawn from the deepest shadows themselves. The explosion, or rather the mini nova that followed rivaled the raw destructive energies of the legendary Yveltal at its strongest, and would've leveled the entirety of Viridian Forest and all of Kanto were it to carry on unabated… but the dome's integrity held up against even an onslaught of this caliber.

Yellow and Blue were knocked on their asses and sent skidding away from the battlefield while Ash and Red managed to stay standing, the latter unable to see through the fog of shadows that Weavile cast over the terrain with the pure, devastating force of his attack. ' _I haven't seen power that strong since_ …' Red paused in thought as he remembered the time when that Lugia healed all of Kanto. The scale on which Legendary Pokémon concentrated their power, whether it was for destructive or healing purposes… was always insane and encompassed an entire Region at the very least. Weavile's current power now rivaled that of a Legendary Dark Type, and it was astonishing and terrifying both at once; if it wasn't for the dome, Red and Weavile could've inadvertently caused a lot of damage. Still, the fact that they could truly go all out in this warped space and nothing could happen to them or anyone else… he grew excited by the prospect of it, and there was no way Omneon was still standing, was there?

To Red and Weavile's incredulity and disbelief, Omneon was still conscious, but also on her last legs. One more attack like that and Weavile would win. As Yellow and Blue recovered from the shock of that attack and the astronomical power it possessed, they both rounded on Red with an anime-style vein popping on their foreheads. "Did you have to cause such a ruckus?! That was completely uncalled for!" Blue shouted at him while Red and Weavile sweat dropped and Yellow simply sighed in exasperation; her anger already ebbing away at the smiles and laughter both Trainers were sharing at this very moment.

"That was amazing Red, you found a way to turn my own power against me, and Weavile's use of both Psych Up to copy Omneon's maxed stats and Punishment to turn our own stat boosts against us… WHOA, I'm still geeking out about that! That was inspired man, you were bloody awesome… your team was fucking fabulous. Unfortunately for you guys, Omneon and I still have one final ace up our sleeves, and it's high time we used it. Go sweetheart, use Baton Pass!" Ash raised a fist above his head and fist bumped the air as Omneon nodded and smiled sweetly; conjuring a red baton and twirling it in a hand construct comprised entirely of energy… energy that would pass along all of Omneon's stat changes to the next Pokémon in line.

"OH NO!" Red shouted, unable to believe he didn't see this coming and bracing himself for an onslaught as Ash called upon his next Pokémon.

"Infernape, time to go bananas my old friend, now let's do this!" Ash shouted defiantly to the heavens and everyone at large as the Fire/Fighting-type Monkey Pokémon emerged in a blinding sphere of golden light that shone like the sun.

"Infernape, APE, APE…" The crazed monkey screeched maniacally while slapping the ground with his hands and jumping all around the place in a rampage, like a gorilla going absolute apeshit. His eyes narrowed as he locked gazes with Weavile, and he grinned cheekily as he felt his power levels skyrocket to their maximum capacity in canon game terms; clearly, one of Ash's other Pokémon had Baton Passed him a triple set of Extreme Evoboosts. Infernape slapped the ground once more, and screeched challengingly like a banshee right out of hell as both he and Weavile were off at their Trainer's command quicker than grease lightning… meeting in the middle of the battlefield in a clash of titans that shook the whole of Viridian Forest right down to its roots.


	2. Chapter Two: What fools these mortals be

_Disclaimer by AIC2: Thomas doesn't own anything; except the ZOF in the non-fictional realities… though he wishes he also owned it for real as a God. Trust me I know, after all… I am a meta-omniscient, Trans-Omni-Fictional Deity. Anyways, he says this is strictly non-profit and I can testify to the authenticity of that statement. Good day mortals!_

Chapter Two: What fools these mortals be

Yellow and Blue sat off on the sidelines, so engrossed in the clash of titans taking place before them that they could barely focus on anything else other than occasionally commentating amongst themselves. "Ash really is an amazing battler; it's incredible how much he knows about Pokémon move sets and abilities." Yellow couldn't help but praise her new friend's vast combating skills.

"Yeah, he's good, but I wonder how much better Red would fare if Ash didn't use Pokémon like Omneon or spam Z-Moves. You have to admit Ash has a horribly unfair advantage." Blue replied idly, imagining a very different battle scenario taking place in accordance to her specifications.

Yellow shook her head in disagreement. "Even if he didn't use them, I still think Ash would emerge the victor. And trust me Blue; I don't admit to Red losing any battle easily. I'm honestly torn on who to cheer for." She admitted with a shy blush while studying Ash's stance and Infernape's berserker fighting style with obvious interest.

"No you're not; you just don't want to admit that you could grow to like anyone besides Red one day." Blue insisted in an all-knowing tone. Yellow's blush deepened at the bluntness of Blue's proclamation.

"I only just met the man!" She vehemently denied with a crack in her voice; hating that Blue could get her so riled up with so little effort.

"Uh huh, it sounds to me like someone's been stricken by the age old condition of fangirl syndrome." Blue snickered while waggling her eyebrows tantalizingly.

"Shut up! I have not! I feel bad for Red!" Yellow protested while attempting to sound threatening, but her voice only managed to break off with a squeak towards the end. Damn that Blue and her ability to get her worked up without fail.

"Have to!" Blue argued childishly, and Yellow stuck her tongue out at her in an equally childish display as both of them collapsed into giggles and returned their attention to the battle. Infernape and Weavile clashed once again in a blitzkrieg of hypersonic punches and kicks that weren't any kind of Pokémon attack; only to stalemate yet again as both of them flew back in near perfect sync and landed back beside their Trainers with all the grace of a pair of superhuman ninjas. They both analyzed each other's fighting patterns and attempted to calculate a series of countermeasures based on what they've seen so far of the other's combative presence. Pika stood beside his Trainer while an exhausted Omneon laid somewhere behind Ash beside Raichu IC2 and cooed in delight as the Electric-type mouse gave her a massage.

Red was the first to call out the next attack, and his knowledge of Weavile's move pool genuinely impressed Ash IC2 as the Pokémon Master of 10, 000 Triple O's allowed his opponent to make the next move. "Alright Weavile… Mud Slap let's go!" Red exclaimed while raising his fist up above his head in his excitement. Things were beginning to seriously heat up right now and both Pokémon had all of their main stats boosted by +6. In most cases +6 was the highest a Pokémon's stats could be safely boosted by. It was all because of Weavile's Psych Up and Omneon's triple Extreme Evoboost earlier that both Trainers and their Pokémon had gotten to this point.

Red was still unnerved by how vast Omneon's Move Pool was, and despite both Pokémon being maximally boosted in all of their stats; Infernape had a huge type advantage over Weavile. Red knew he and Weavile would have to get pretty creative with their next few attacks if he wanted to pull out a win against that berserker Infernape of his. Red had seen very few Pokémon in his time with the level of fighting spirit that fire monkey palpably exuded; this Infernape was going to be an absolute bitch to take down… and that was if they could take him down at all.

Weavile tossed a gob of mud at Infernape's face with all his strength, everyone watching as it sailed through the air at the speed of sound… and Ash reacted with a dodge command so fast Yellow and Blue's heads spun. Infernape disappeared in a blur of motion that created slight afterimages of himself across the field. The Mud Slap continued onward past where Infernape once stood and disappeared over the Horizon of the dome space. Ash excitedly raised his fist in a dynamic pose above his head and called out his next attack.

"Mach Punch; let's go!" Infernape grew a savage grin and carried out the order so fast he broke the sound barrier. Even Weavile's speed was no match for what was probably Infernape's fastest attack, and he was hit with a glowing blue-white fist at supersonic velocities. The force of it caused a thunderous crack of displaced air to reverberate from the collision as Weavile flew back with a cry of pain. He still somehow managed to land on his feet and remain standing despite being hit with the 4x super effective move. Red, Yellow, and Blue all winced at the sheer power of the attack; that was probably the strongest Mach Punch any of them had ever seen, by far.

"Jesus Christ, Ash doesn't dick around." Blue observed in a breathless tone of naked awe. Red knew that if Weavile hadn't been boasting a +6 defense stat then he would've been KOed just by the stupidly overpowered collision alone. Yellow was so blown away she didn't remember to take personal offense to Blue's vulgarity.

The brunette struck a thinking pose as Yellow looked at her with questions brimming in her golden eyes. "That Mach Punch was insane… I don't think the +6 attack of Infernape is the only key factor here." Blue observed as Ash IC2 inwardly applauded her astuteness.

Before Yellow could ask her to elaborate Red answered her unasked question for her. "Let me guess, Infernape has Iron Fist." He ventured, and Ash nodded with a Cheshire grin.

"Indeed he does Red; I noticed that you worked that out as well Blue." Ash complimented them both as Blue smirked at him and Red scratched his cheek sheepishly. Yellow turned to Blue.

"Iron Fist is Infernape's Hidden Ability right?" She asked for clarification, and Blue nodded.

"It boosts the strength of all punching moves exponentially; which is partly why Infernape's Mach Punch was so damn strong. Be careful Red, they mean business." Blue warned him as Ash and Infernape got into a battling stance. The flawless synchronicity of their movements was not lost on anyone present.

"You think I don't know that? Weavile, shake it off and get in there with a Whirlpool." Red commanded. Ash and Infernape both grinned as he waited for Weavile to start attacking before ordering a move that would cripple Red's entire Psych Up stratagem if it worked.

"Wait until he gets close and then use Roar!" Ash commanded, and Red's eyes widened in immediate realization of the situation and what it could mean. He had to think quickly, and luckily for him there were two moves in Weavile's move pool that could turn that strategy on its head. The Battler settled for the lesser known one.

"Switch from Whirlpool to Throat Chop before he has a chance to finish the move." He commanded. Weavile completely switched attacks without missing a beat and moved in at close proximity to Infernape who was inhaling a large amount of air. The one drawback to Whirlwind and Roar was that they were ridiculously slow moves and required the opponent to attack them first in order to pull them off. So by switching to Throat Chop right now, Red knew he could easily disable the attack while it was in the midst of being executed.

"That was quick thinking on Red's part. Throat Chop is a move that disables the opponent's sound based moves for a set time period; he can definitely turn this around now." Blue explained to a lost Yellow, who realized she still had so much to learn about battling strategies and different move sets. She huffed indignantly when it became clear just how easy Red had been going on her the past couple of years during their biweekly battles. She didn't like to admit it, but she couldn't have kept up with Red when he was battling at this level.

Ash smiled in appreciation as Weavile landed a massively solid judo chop to Infernape's trachea. The Roar attack died in his throat and he lost his voice for the moment as he stumbled backwards a few feet. It was suitably challenging battles like this that Ash IC2 and his Pokémon lived for, but he would be damned if he let his opponents win. Whatever it took, he was going to show he could beat them in their own battling element. He wondered how well he would fare if he handicapped himself and his Pokémon further by not using Z-Moves or Omneon. Red was a strong battler, of that he had no doubt, and Ash questioned whether he could beat him or not without all of his nifty little tricks.

"Let's end this with Punishment Infernape; turn Weavile's power against him!" He commanded, intending to use the currently 600 base power Dark-type move in order to hopefully clinch the match. Dark-type moves were Weavile's specialty but at that level of power, type matchups didn't mean a damn thing if it hit.

"You use Punishment to Weavile!" Red commanded, and Yellow and Blue both braced themselves in their seats; remembering what happened the last time that move was used by Weavile and how ridiculously overpowered it was. Unlike Stored Power and Power Trip; Punishment gained power for every stat boost the opponent applied to each of their stats rather than the Pokémon using the move itself. Since Infernape and Weavile were both +6 in all their main stats… it was a whopping 600 base power attack. This was enough power to decimate the entire Region if it wasn't properly contained.

Both Pokémon grinned menacingly and exuded a horrifying and overwhelmingly powerful aura of darkness and shadows that seemed to tint the world around them several shades darker. It was like someone had created an astronomical anomaly by eclipsing the sun and moon. The ground shook in response to their mere presences and Yellow and Blue felt the air drop in temperature by several degrees as a freaky, almost evil vibe permeated the air around them. They were off in two blazing whirls of motion the second their power reached its apex, and collided with one another with all of their strength, all of their malicious intent to punish the other for boosting their stats.

The explosion that followed shook the ground beneath their feet at well past the Richter scale's highest measurable readings; though the dome held up against even this onslaught as the force of the clashing titans blew them both back at the same speed they slammed into each other with. Ash was the only Trainer present who remained standing from the backlash; both Red and the girls were sent skidding backwards from their original position on their butts, leaving them all with noticeable skid marks. Pika, Raichu, and Omneon weren't faring much better, but managed to remain rooted to the ground. A maelstrom of Dark-type energy was kicked up and hazed the battlefield; since the ground wasn't capable of being ripped apart right now there wasn't any sand or dirt, but that didn't stop the energy of the attacks themselves from not revealing the final outcome right away.

Red stood to his feet in all due haste; still disoriented from the pure force of the clashing titans but driven by his desire to see how came out the victor in that last attack… for he was certain there would be no repeat performances after that whopper. Yellow and Blue were next to return to their original seated positions on the floor; slightly swirly-eyed and dizzied from that assault on their senses and the unexpected wild ride. To Red's joy and immense relief, Weavile was the one left standing and that monster of an Infernape was lying on his back with swirls for eyes; completely and totally unconscious as Ash returned him to his Pocket Totality with a proud smile on his face. Red cheered and praised his Weavile for all he was worth for the victory, and Weavile gave him a tired but genuine smile.

"You were absolutely fantastic my old friend; you've earned yourself a good, long rest and some extra treats today!" Ash praised his fallen comrade with immeasurable reverence. Yellow couldn't help but sigh seeing how much Ash respected his Pokémon; it seemed Blue had been onto something when she implied the blonde was fangirling big time. She hadn't seen such devotion to Pokémon since… well since Red. It actually shocked her how much they were alike; yet at the same time they were also as different as different could be.

Ash knew his next choice right away and called a tired looking Omneon back onto the field; who had been receiving a massage treatment from Raichu for her efforts further back from the field behind their Trainer. "If Red plays his cards right, he might actually win this with Weavile alone. He's already pretty much set to sweep." Blue whispered to Yellow excitedly, who sat by watching Ash as he released Omneon and not a fresh Pokémon. She somehow knew there was more to his plan than simply trying to do damage with Omneon. Looking at Weavile, she could tell he was reaching his limit as well. Even with his maximally boosted stats she didn't think he had the stamina necessary to solo the rest of Ash's team. It was simply too late in the game and Weavile had taken too much punishment; Red had left him out too long and he knew it to. Still, she also understood why he kept Weavile out this whole time; he was the only defense Red had against Ash's triple Evoboosted Omneon.

"You've done really well Red, honestly… it's been a very long time since someone has managed to take out even just one of my Pokémon and I am so glad it was you who did it. Unfortunately, Omneon and I have one last trick up our sleeve…" Ash declared with a smirk as he raised his Z-Ring and did the dance to activate the Normal-type Z-Moves.

"Use Z-Psych Up," He commanded as Omneon gave a dazzling smile and Blue and Yellow's eyes widened.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Red demanded with eyes wide and his panic mounting. Yellow turned to Blue questioningly; the latter of whom simply shrugged.

"I honestly don't know what additional effects most of the Status Z-Moves have Yellow, but it can't be anything good." Blue admitted as both returned their attention to the battle and Omneon executed the move that allowed her to copy Weavile's stat boosts and regain all of her former statistical prowess. Weavile, Red, Yellow, and Blue watched in wide-eyed wonder as something else happened on top of the stats being copied… all of the damage Omneon sustained from her last bout with Weavile up and vanished. Lacerations mended themselves, bruises faded into nothing, and the healthy sheen of her fur coat returned as the overexertion and fatigue melted off of her altogether.

"Shit! This is really not good!" Red swore, and Yellow couldn't believe her eyes.

"Holy crap, so does Z-Psych Up work like Soft-boiled or Recover?!" She exclaimed questioningly, and Ash smirked.

"It works better actually; moves like Recover can only replenish a set amount of health. Z-Psych Up is a guaranteed return to full health and optimum performance every time no matter how much damage the Pokémon using it has sustained." He explained to his captivated audience as Red couldn't believe his ears.

"I don't fucking believe this! You and Omneon had that in your back pocket this whole time?! You were planning to use it the second you switched Omneon out using Baton Pass… weren't you?!" Red all but demanded for clarification as Ash chuckled and smiled sheepishly.

"Guilty as charged." He snickered, and Yellow's eyes widened at this admission while Blue could only look upon him with an unreadable expression.

"I hate to admit it but that was impressive; his entire strategy was impressive really. And his level of preparedness is truly incredible." Blue admitted in a hushed tone as Yellow couldn't help but smile at this. She was overjoyed that Ash and Red seemed to be having the time of their lives. Both Pika and Raichu's enthusiasm was as manic as their respective Trainer's, and even Omneon smiled at their infectious enthusiasm.

"Man, Ash… you really had me and Weavile fooled there. We should battle again sometime with no Z-Moves or anything else like that; I'd like to see how I stack up to you when you're not resorting to all these little tricks I've never even heard of." Red told his opponent with a chuckle, while Ash smirked at the unexpected challenge.

"That sounds like a delightfully fun time. Honestly, the whole point of this was to prove to all of you my power, and I've done that. Now all that's left to do is finish this fight; I also feel this will give you a pretty good idea of just how awesome Z-Moves are. They're all the rage in various other Pokémon worlds and even a couple of the non-Pokémon ones as well. Though that might have something to do with the compatibility between them and the ZOF, but I digress."

"Without any further preamble, let us carry on this battling ritual of sorts. Maybe then I can finally move on and pass into the Ancient Egyptian afterlife and be reborn as the God Pharaoh Atem IC2; oops, sorry, wrong universe." He eccentrically declared with a shit-eating grin as everyone but Omneon and Raichu, who was fast asleep on the sidelines of the fight, looked at him like he had lost his bloody marbles. This prompted a great deal of confusion from him as he wondered what he said wrong, but he shook his head and refocused on the battle at hand.

"Let's put everything we have into another Punishment Weavile! Go for broke!" Red commanded with an emphatic fist pump as Ash's shit-eating grin widened.

"Retaliate with Power Trip Omneon; let's go for broke as well!" He commanded with pure euphoria pervading his entire body. Omneon nodded firmly and gave a beautiful smile that would've captivated even people who weren't into Pokephilea before her ribbons lashed out at blinding speeds like a set of cat o' nine tails while exuding a ridiculously overpowered and menacing Dark-type aura. Weavile's body gave off a similar energy as he rushed headlong into the fray of gnashing, whipping, biting tendrils of pure devastation and attempted to muscle his way through them to reach his target.

The strength of the ribbons was virtually peerless, but Weavile moved fast enough that they glanced off of him instead of catapulting him away in the opposite direction. Omneon changed tactics as Weavile closed in on her and the ribbons failed to knock him away. She ran at him instead with the both of them radiating the power of a 600 base power dark-type attack; one that was directed at the stat boosts of the opponents and one that was dependent on the amount of stat boosts by the user.

They met each other in the exact center of the battlefield, and all hell broke loose as an even bigger explosion of Dark-type energy emanated from their collision than the one from before. A mushroom cloud of jet black haze plumed into the air with the force of a Hydrogen Bomb, and reached all the way up into the sky for dozens of miles. Yellow and Blue attempted to shield their faces from the explosion with their arms, and Red was blown back off his feet again for what seemed the umpteenth time. Their ears rang crazily and it took a few minutes for their disorientation to pass; even Red was slower to get back up this time around since the pure concussive force of the collision slammed into him with the practical force of a train.

Ash IC2 knew the devastation they all felt would've been much for severe were it not for his damage suppression field and it could very easily kill them if they got too close. Still, he wasn't about to let any of his new friends die. As the haze cleared after what seemed forever and Ash and Red waited to see who remained standing… they were greeted by the sight of both Omneon and Weavile lying unconscious in the undamaged floor of the Celestial terrain Ash created for them all.

Red returned Weavile with a proud smile. "You did wonderfully buddy; you managed to take her down with you." He lavished his partner with praise as he disappeared in a beam of red light.

"You did a phenomenal job as always Omneon; I reckon Raichu is going to reward you later tonight and I can't thank you enough." Ash sent his own shower of praise as Omneon disappeared through that portal Ash summoned her from before.

Red sighed as he considered his next options, which weren't many. Saur and Poli were down for the count and Lax weren't far behind them. He'd just lost Weavile now trying to take down that monster of an Omneon, and though he succeeded… he had three Pokémon left while Ash had four of his that he didn't even reveal them so Red couldn't even properly prepare a strategy anyway. Sighing as he tried to settle on who to use; he decided to save Pika for last and send out Aero once again. The prehistoric Pokémon gave a mighty flap of his wings and a ghastly shriek like a banshee... determined to redeem himself after being switched out by his own Roar attack last time.

Ash grew a maddening Cheshire grin as he called forth another Pokémon from that other dimension of his. "I call upon Krookodile IC2! Awaken from thy ancient slumber and join me in this battle!" He commanded in a majestic tone as a sunglasses-wearing individual of the Dark and Ground-type appeared in a flash of iridescent golden light.

"Aero, set up with Hone Claws and then use Sky Attack!" Red commanded as Aero nodded and began to glow with a searing light while he sharpened his claws against each other. Ash couldn't resist grinning again as he and Krookodile decided to pull a Thomas IC strategy.

"Use Stone Edge on yourself." He ordered, and Krookodile gave a grin that only a crocodilian could pull off as his body was encased in a series of giant, razor-sharp rocks on all sides. He winced slightly as they cut into his body somewhat and drilled the weak spot with a critical hit.

"Why in the hell would Ash do that?! He's deliberately making his Krookodile hurt himself!" Yellow shouted angrily, having half a mind to march over there and give him a piece of her mind for hurting his own Pokémon needlessly like he did. Blue held up an arm to stop her, and she paused as the brunette conveyed to her with that simple action that she should wait before jumping to conclusions.

Her eyes widened as well as Red's when Krookodile gave a furious roar and his whole body glowed red to indicate a drastic boost in attack. "What just happened?" She asked in an insatiably curious voice.

"That's fucking brilliant, Krookodile has Anger Point. Anger Point is an ability that boosts Krookodile's Attack stat to the maximum of +6 when he takes a critical hit. And since Stone Edge has an extremely high critical hit ratio Ash was able to have Krookodile drill himself right in his body's weak points and activate Anger Point completely on his own." Blue explained to a star-struck Yellow as realization dawned on her. She still didn't like that Krookodile needed to be hurt like that, but to activate such a useful ability she could look past it.

"Shit! Just when I thought Omneon was the only Pokémon on your roster who could sweep my entire team; you go and summon an Anger Point Krookodile. And to activate Anger Point in such an unconventional manner that isn't dependent on your opponents; you're truly an amazing Trainer Ash." Red praised his opponent as Krookodile gave a menacing glare which Aero returned while glowing with the blinding golden power of Sky Attack and allowing it to build well past its usual parameters of power. Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly.

"That means a lot coming from a Trainer of your skill Red; thank you." He said sincerely, and Red gave him a thumb up as he knew they were at the home stretch now.

"No problem, now back to the battle! Aero, activate Sky Attack and hit Krookodile with everything you've got!" Red exclaimed in passion-crazed frenzy as Aero could be seen giving a toothy grin from inside the searing down of light and energy that covered his entire body. Aero gave a loud, primordial screech as he flew at top speeds towards his prey; intending to end it all for Red or at the very least take down that crocodile.

"You should know by now we won't go down that easily Red. Krookodile; dodge and use a Triple Swagger." Ash commanded as Red's eyes widened at the reckless move. Sure Aero would be in a confused state, but after that wore off he'd have a maxed attack stat to retaliate with. All Red really had to do was wait until it wore off on its own, and then Aero could effectively rival Krookodile for his overwhelming offensive prowess. He was curious about what Ash was planning and wished he studied more about Krookodile and his move pool.

Without missing a beat, Krookodile expertly sidestepped the incoming Sky Attack just as the down faded from around Aero's body, and attacked the Aerodactyl with a set of three Swaggers. Aerodactyl was subjected to the triple attack and saw illusory birds circling his head and the world tipping upside down as he lost his sense of up, down, light, dark, or any other kind of rationality. Entering the ever-annoying confused status, Aero's body was also covered with a red light that indicated his maxed attack.

"Way to go Krookodile! Don't let up and use Foul Play!" Ash commanded as Red swore at the simple yet excruciatingly effective tactic. He couldn't believe he overlooked the thought that Krookodile could use Foul Play, or that it was the reason Ash's Krookodile had so generously given Aero a maxed out attack stat via Triple Swagger. He knew there was some kind of trap involved right from the start, and now he was in the process of kicking himself for not connecting two and two together sooner.

"Aero, snap out of it quickly! Come on, we're not done yet! You can do this!" Red cheered his Pokémon on in full support; his faith in his partner absolute as Aero managed to shake off the confusion just in time to dodge Krookodile who attempted to slap him around while radiating a menacing and overwhelming Dark-type energy. He took to the skies once again and gave a loud screech of relief at having dodged that metaphorical bullet.

"Red's so supportive of his Pokémon, and he continues to believe in them until the bitter end. It's no wonder both of us fell in love with him, huh, Yellow?" Blue asked her blonde friend as they sat on the sidelines and watched the captivating fight take place. Yellow nodded with a dazzling smile, her eyes sparkling and her face flushed slightly.

"Yeah, truth be told I still have feelings for him Blue; you're really lucky you know." Yellow whispered back, still feeling the sting of her rejected love as memories of all the things she and Red had been through together flashed in her mind's eye.

"I know, and if you ever change your mind about sharing him with me know that the offer will always stand." Blue told her as Yellow's eyes widened in shock, prompting a laugh from the gorgeous brunette.

"What? Did you think I was kidding before Yellow? I meant what I said, you're my best friend as much as Red and we share practically everything else at this point so why not him? I seriously doubt he or any other guy would complain about two gorgeous girls taking turns grinding against his cock in bed. The question you've got to ask yourself is if you're into polygamy and three-way relationships." Blue cackled lewdly as Yellow's face grew so red with humiliation she was literally steaming.

"Blue! Don't even speak of things like that!" Yellow whisper-shouted desperately, though in her mind she couldn't stop the image of her and Blue engaging in a threesome with Red from forming of its own accord. She couldn't deny a part of her was excited by the idea, and she wasn't as innocent or prudish as she let on.

When her mind suddenly conjured the image of her and Blue taking turns with Ash instead of Red, she knew it was time for her to return her focus to the battle as best she could. In the back of her mind she wondered though… what would become of her friendship with both Blue and Red if she chose to take Blue up on her offer? She was almost as turned on by the idea of a relationship with Blue as she was one with Red; considering she was bi-curious at the very least… but then there was Ash. What could he become to her in the future if she allowed herself to befriend him after this match was done?

"Alright Aero, now use Aqua Tail." Red commanded with a cheer as a massive torrent of water materialized as a rounded tower of H2O that extended from the Aerodactyl's tail towards Krookodile IC2. Ash grinned as he immediately thought up a counter measure that could win this fight.

"Wait for our chance Krookodile." He told him as Yellow, Blue, Pika, Raichu, and Omneon all held their breath from their respective positions on the sidelines… not sure what Ash was planning. Yellow could only hope that Krookodile wasn't too hurt for his efforts. Red wasn't sure what he was planning and some part of him thought about calling Aero back, but he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere by playing keep away either; he needed to on the offensive… regardless of whatever countermeasure Ash was planning.

Aero was right on top of him and swung his super-dense watery tail extension in a sideways arc as Ash instantly reacted. "Grab it quick, and bite down on Aero's watery tail using Thunder Fang." He quickly retaliated as Red swore at being led into another trap. He hated that he didn't know more about Krookodile's move pool or others as well, and now he was going to pay for it big time. Still, he wasn't about to make it easy for them.

"Pull away as fast as you can, hurry Aero!" Red commanded; a note of desperation in his voice as Aero attempted to disconnect from his Aqua Tail and fly away. But in a burst of speed that surprised all of them, Krookodile slammed his electricity-coated jaws down on the Aqua Tail. The water's electricity-conducting properties, plus Aero's weakness to Electric-type attacks, plus Krookodile's +6 attack stat… equaled one very KOed Aerodactyl who landed in a sorry-looking heap on the ground. He was twitching from random muscle spasms due the electric-overcharge and had swirls for her eyes, but other than that he was undamaged and the powers of Ash IC2's dome took effect.

Red returned the poor creature with a sigh, but he was still smiling. "You were brilliant Aero; I just wasn't quick enough to initiate the command to pull away." He congratulated his Pokémon before turning to look at his last Pokeball before Pika and wished Lax the best of luck before lobbing his ball out onto the field and releasing the Snorlax in an orb of white light.

"Snorrrrrrrr….laxxxxxx." The big behemoth grunted somewhat grumpily at having been woken up from his nap, but immediately heaved himself to his feet and yawned as he looked at his opponent. He felt the effects of the last bout still and staggered a little uncertainly, clearly having had time to recover a little but also still considerably worn down.

"Alright Snorlax, use Rest and Sleep Talk in combination." Red commanded, wanting to recover Lax's health and go on the offensive at the same time. Lax immediately complied and fell into a deep sleep as his lacerations, bruises, and damage he sustained from the last bout with Omneon started fading away. Ash and Krookodile shared an eager grin and let the Rest finish healing Lax as the Sleep Talk randomly selected one of his moves.

To Red's surprise he landed on Belly Drum and maxed out his attack… still asleep even as his health depleted for a moment only to start replenishing once more as Rest continually healed any and all damage. "This is going to be so much fun! Krookodile, wait until he wakes up and let's hammer him with a Low Kick and Focus Punch combo!" He commanded, going all out with his offensive strategy as Red gulped somewhat nervously. Given Snorlax's sheer bulk, Low Kick alone would have a base power that was through the roof, but Focus Punch on top of that?! Jesus, Blue's earlier assessment was spot on; Ash didn't dick around.

"Use Sleep Talk again!" Red commanded quickly, and Lax complied as he settled on Giga Impact. Red gave a cheer as Lax rushed at Krookodile with all of his strength and speed. Ash pumped his fist into the air and initiated a counter-attack, the both of them playing for keeps at this point.

"Focus Punch on both fists, full blast! Then follow up with Low Kick!" He commanded rapidly, and Krookodile nodded before driving a fist comprised of pure white energy straight into Snorlax's gut in the middle of his charge, stopping the half-ton Pokémon dead in his tracks as the purple and golden spiraling energy around his body dissipated and spit was forcibly ejected from his mouth. Krookodile didn't give him any chance to recover as he drove his other fist into Snorlax's belly and sent him sailing twenty-to-thirty feet into the air only to land in the middle of the field with meteoric impact. Krookodile wrapped it up with a Low Kick as Snorlax managed to tank both hits and rise shakily to his feet. The Low Kick knocked him down once again with even greater impact than before. He didn't get back up this time as Krookodile gave a roar of victory.

"Jesus… there goes Lax to! At this rate, Krookodile is going to sweep the whole rest of Red's team." Yellow said somewhat sadly, feeling sympathy for Red course through her at the thought of him suffering such a bad loss for the first time in his career. She was momentarily stunned by her own display of profanity, but forgoed saying anything about it this time and agreed to try and be less of a prude from here on out.

"Yeah, he's getting his ass kicked out there." Blue agreed, and both girls sighed as they continued spectating; surprised to find they weren't getting bored watching the fight and figuring they could learn a lot of new fighting styles and strategies from these two.

Red sighed with slight dejection at the sound defeat Ash was handing him, a proud smile on his face as he returned Lax with the usual congratulations on a job well done. He then turned to Pika, who shared his Trainer's grim determination to at least take Krookodile down with him before he fainted. At least then he could say six of his Pokémon had defeated three of his opponent's; 3-0 looked better for him than 4-0 did… but this Krookodile was an utter monster. Still, Red never let that stop him before and Pika mirrored his smile.

"Alright buddy, get on out there and show them everything you've got and are made of. Show them that we don't give a shit about any type advantages Krookodile may have or anything else. Show em what we're all about!" Red exclaimed as Pika gave a cheer and scurried out onto the battlefield with cheeks sparking with electricity and his whole demeanor pulsing with determination. There was no way in hell his lone Pikachu could realistically expect to win against all four of Ash's remaining Pokémon, but if Krookodile was going to beat them they planned on making him and Ash work for it.

"Ah, at last… we see Pika in action. I figured you would save your strongest for last Red, and it looks like I was right." Ash chuckled as Red and Pika both grinned.

"Krookodile, any chance you want to rest and switch out with another member of my party?" Ash asked his Pokémon in case he was tired, only for the sunglasses wearing crocodilian to shake his head vehemently in protest.

"Well, I guess that answers that question. Krookodile, use Bulldoze now!" Ash ordered as Krookodile complied without hesitating, stomping his foot on the ground hard and tearing it apart all around Pika with the resulting trembling.

"Dodge using Magnet Rise; then spam a triple Nasty Plot while using Surf." Red retaliated as Pika hastened to carry out his commands. First rising into the air using his electromagnetism, Pika conjured a series of dark thought clouds above his head that turned into exclamation points. At the same time that Krookodile was tearing open the ground with an overpowered Bulldoze, Pika was conjuring a massive tidal wave of water to attack him with while defying gravity via Magnet Rise.

A massive blue wave of water rose up and crashed down onto the field, and powered by a triple set of Nasty Plot boosts; Red was astonished to discover Pika had managed to down the big behemoth of a Krookodile in one hit. The crocodilian reemerged with swirls for eyes as the excess water was absorbed by the Infinity Dome Ash conjured before and both Yellow and Blue were soaked all the way through their clothes as they tried to squeeze the water from their hair.

"Ah man, did you have to make such a massive tidal wave Red? You could've warned us to get out of the way or something." Yellow whined as Red rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and Ash got a sneak preview of both her and Blue's breasts and the curves of their bodies as their sopping wet shirts clung to them. Deciding to spare them at least some modicum of modesty; Ash waved his hand and they found themselves dry and back to the state they were in before that Surf attack faster than they could process it.

"What in the what now?!" Blue questioned in exclamation as the wetness she felt in her clothes and her hair literally just up and vanished; unsure of what to make of it and feeling her head spinning out of control. Yellow was surprised as well, because if anything she felt fresher and cleaner than she did after a nice hot shower; she looked over to Ash's side of the battlefield and saw him fighting a grin and she chuckled when she realized it was him who did that. Her smile turned into a more neutral expression as she and Blue returned their focus to the battle.

"Don't ask questions right now Blue; I really want to see how this turns out. Red and Pika managed to beat Krookodile." Yellow whispered as Blue nodded and the two of them prepared to watch the next bout. Ash smiled proudly at his Krookodile for a job well done before he returned him to his Pocket Triple O with a fond farewell and congratulations. He turned to his own Raichu who sat together with Omneon further back in the dome behind him. Clearly the all-inclusive Eeveelution was feeling much better if she let herself out to be with her mate. Ash smiled for the millionth time that day seeing once again how inseparable they were, and almost felt bad for breaking them apart for the moment.

"Hey Raichu, what do you say the two of us end this?!" Ash requested of his starter politely, who flashed him a radiant beam.

' _Yeah… let's do this_!' Raichu exclaimed in Pokespeech which Ash was able to perfectly understand. With that said, Raichu IC2 leaped out onto the field with Omneon cheering him on in the background and blowing him a kiss for good luck. Raichu blushed heavily at this but shook his head to snap himself out of his natural infatuation status as he grinned at the prospect of battling another Pikachu. He'd fought so many in his time that there was little any Pikachu Trainers could do to surprise him anymore. He knew their entire move pools in all seven generations of the games and beyond; he also had a few special moves of his own up his sleeve that no other Raichu had. He was ready, or as close to infinitely prepared as anyone could ever realistically be.

"Alright Raichu, let's turn this around; use Lightning Thief on Pika." Ash IC2 commanded as Raichu grinned and stood on his two hind-paws as he formed a bolt of endlessly multicolored lightning in his right front paw. Yellow and Blue were both impressed, having never heard of any Raichu using such a move before and wondering what it did. It took great skill for a Trainer and Pokemon to develop a completely new and custom-made move. Red didn't know what it did either, but he wasn't taking any chances and letting it hit Pika if he could help it.

"Dodge it Pika." He commanded as Raichu threw the bolt of lightning in a manner similar to Zeus's thunderbolts. The fork of lightning sailed towards them faster than any natural earth lightning or Electric-type attack; far too fast for Pika to dodge even at tops speeds via Extreme Speed. What surprised him is the lightning not only glowed in every color in the visible spectrum… but also seemed to connect both Raichu IC2 and Pika as though made of some kind of rope.

It hit Pika and seemed to transfer his energy over to Raichu before applying that energy to the damage done. Pika uttered a shriek of pain as Raichu's body was covered in the same red down that indicated a stat boost somehow; an explosion rocking the battle dome from the resulting attack as Pika was launched into the air and landed at Red's fight with considerable impact. Yellow and Blue watched with baited breath and Blue heaved a sigh of relief when Pika managed to stand back up but looked really shaken. The health meter that Red's Pokedex displayed above indicated Pika's health was at zero and he was on his last legs, but he was still willing to fight.

"What… was that? I've seen Trainers use custom moves before, and even developed a few of my own with my Pokemon, but I am curious." Red finally asked.

"That move... it almost seems like it stole Pika's Nasty Plot boosts before attacking him." Yellow observed as Ash smiled at her in approval.

"Your astuteness is impressive Yellow; that is exactly what it did… hence its name Lightning Thief. It's a move I personally invented for all of my Electric-type mons; got the idea from a guy named Percy Jackson. It steals the opponent's stat boosts and applies those stat boosts to any damage done by it where applicable. If it steals physical stat boosts it is a physical attack, and if it steals special stat boosts then it is a special attack; if it steals both I can pick whether it is physical or special on a whim." Ash explained as Red's eyes widened and Blue and Yellow both exchanged a nervous glance.

"Damn... that's a nifty little parlor trick Ash!" Red exclaimed, silently impressed despite himself.

Ash shrugged with supreme airiness. "Thank you for that assessment Red; I do enjoy getting the jump on my opponents. My Pokemon and I have a vast plethora of custom moves at our disposal." He commented with pride in his Team, and Red smirked before deciding he and Pika would go out in a blaze of glory.

"You still good to go Pi?" Red asked his first wild-caught Pokémon, who nodded a little shakily.

"Okay, use Dig." Red commanded, making use of perhaps the only move Pika had that could super-effectively damage other Electric-types. Pika nodded and jumped into the air while performing a drilling motion as he descended back to the ground… boring a hole in the floor of the dome somehow. Red didn't bother to think about the mechanics of this place or how it allowed moves like Dig to work… he just trusted his instincts and fought on with all of his courage and might.

Ash gave a little smirk as he realized Red was using a very obvious tactic… any experienced Trainer could've anticipated this in a Pikachu on Raichu battle. ' _Red must be getting desperate to damage us anyway he can before he goes down… but this is the end my young friend._ ' Ash stated inwardly as he sent Raichu a nonverbal command to Iron Tail the ground in order to drive Pika out then finish this up with one last Lightning Thief attack.

Raichu hurriedly complied and jumped up 20-feet into the air before driving his shining, metallic tail into the ground with all his might; tearing open the floor of the dome and causing a massive tremor that catapulted Pika right out of it into the air. This left him open to a direct attack. Summoning another lightning bolt in his right paw… Raichu tossed it with pinpoint accuracy and surgical precision at his target. It struck Pika so hard it generated a clap of thunder just like a real lightning bolt would have and with Pika already on his last legs plus Raichu IC2 having +6 in his Special Attack stat; the electric mouse landed on the floor with meteoric impact, and when the dust settled he was revealed with swirls for eyes… thus signifying the end of the battle and declaring Ash IC2 the winner.

"Nice work old friend." Ash praised his starter with silent content. After a moment of silence to get over their collective shock; Yellow and Blue shook their heads at how quickly the battle ended... it was surprisingly anti-climactic. Red beamed down at hi starter; knowing he couldn't realistically beat Ash but proud of how well he and his Team did.

"You were amazing Pika, now you go ahead and take a long rest buddy." Red said while beaming with absolute pride and Pika nodded before falling asleep in his arms. Yellow and Blue felt a little disappointed it was over already, but quickly got over it as they stood back up and made their way over to Ash and Red who were meeting each other in the middle of the battlefield.

"This was the greatest battle I've ever fought in my entire life; it's been an honor Ash." Red said while offering him a hand to shake, and while Ash accepted the handshake he wished he could say the same. He knew that even when the truth hurt, it was still better for him to be honest, and so that was exactly what he did.

"That wasn't half bad Red, seriously... you and your team have every right to be proud today." Ash replied with a smile, and Red shook his head at this.

"You've fought better battles than this haven't you?" Red asked for clarification, a little stung by this revelation but still glad Ash was honest with him. Ash nodded with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Trust me, that's not a slight against you man; you're really, really good... but I would be lying if I said I haven't fought better and won. You need to work on improving your Team's repertoire of custom-made moves for starters, because my knowledge of Pokemon move pools makes it so that I'm very hard to surprise with the usual stuff. I will admit that you might've fared better if I had fought you without Omneon and without Z-Moves and all that." Ash admitted in an effort to give Red tips on how to improve his battling style.

Red shook his head at this. "Honestly man, battling you when you're so handicapped by your standards wouldn't really feel like a victory to me, and even then you'd probably still beat me. Honestly, I would love nothing more than to fight you when you're at your best and holding nothing back… but something tells me that's not possible." He replied, and Ash nodded in affirmation of this.

"Not unless I transferred all of my powers to you and your Pokémon, and to be honest I'm not really sure what would happen to you if I did. I've never given another person powers on the same level as me, and as far as I know I'm most powerful being in all existences. In all of my countless sets of endless eternities I've only ever encountered one other being with my kind of power aside from my Pokemon. Truth be told, I'm paradoxically enjoying my own uniqueness yet lonely at the same time if that makes any sense; they say one is the loneliest number, and it really is true." Ash commented with an inappropriately serene tone as Yellow, Blue, and even Red regarded him with sympathy.

"To be honest, I've been thinking of establishing a God Tier above and beyond the ZOF itself and its mightiest Masters. Though currently, I'm the only member of said tier; like Mega Rayquaza being part of the Anything Goes tier in Pokémon battles… though I'm optimistic about that changing one day and maybe even soon. In fact, thanks to meeting TIC2 in person... I know it _will_ change." Ash added with a dazzling smile as Yellow couldn't help but find his endless optimism endearing.

"I'm really happy you feel that way, Ash." She found herself admitting before she could stop herself, and Blue nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean… I still don't really understand any of this, but I do believe in you now. Kinda hard not to given everything you've demonstrated to us so far, and I get the feeling that was only the tiniest preview of what you and your Pokémon can do… am I right?" The brunette beauty said with a wink.

The dome around them faded as the Viridian Forest rematerialized into being all around them. Raichu and Omneon IC2 were both cuddling together in the warmth of sun, which shone done on them all where they stood in the middle of a field. Red decided to give his two cents worth on the matter.

"Look man, I doubt any of us could even begin to imagine what it's like to live your life, but I can say that even if you were the only one of your kind out there; you're not alone. You've got your Pokémon, and frankly you've got a friend in the three of us as far as I'm concerned." He finally said as Ash couldn't help but smile at this.

Yellow decided to pipe up with a question that was nagging at her. "Hey wait; didn't you transfer that Grandmaster stuff of yours to your Pokémon anyways?" She asked him, and Ash nodded with a smile.

"Yes I did, only because they were quite insistent on remaining my partners for as long as I lived. Believe me when I say it was the most painful and intense experience each and every single one of them ever experienced. I have to admit I'm a little reluctant to put anyone else through that; even if the end result is worth it in the end." Ash answered her with a smile, and Yellow nodded respectfully at this. She could understand not wanting to see others in pain; perhaps she and Ash were more alike than she cared to admit.

"So, is it really true that you have an Arceus?" She asked him with stars in her eyes once again, and Ash chuckled at her childlike awe and wonder as he nodded with a sincere smile. Yellow's eyes lit up like the fourth of July at this, and Blue interjected with her own inquiries just as excitedly while Red shook his head at their childish tendencies.

"What about Mew and Mewtwo, or even the five Legendary birds including Lugia and Ho-Oh; do you have them Ash?!" Blue asked him with the same manic enthusiasm as Yellow before her, and Ash couldn't help but smile.

"All of the above and every other Legendary as well on top of that. It may interest you both to know Mewtwo has three Mega Evolved forms as well as three Supreme Evolution forms; I'll tell you all more about Supreme Evolution later on. Also, Lugia and Ho-Oh can both undergo Primal Reversion; in fact many of the already Godlike Legendary Pokémon were much more powerful in primordial times than they are today. Hell, both Zygarde and Giratina can Mega Evolve; though the former has to already be in their Complete Form in order to do so, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Arceus actually has an ultimate, Omni-Type form similar to Omneon's Omni-typing; in fact Arceus is the original Omni-Type Pokémon." Ash went off on an excitable tangent as Blue and Yellow both hung on his every word with rapt attention.

Red was learning a helluva lot more about Legendary and Mythical Pokémon today than he ever thought he could; if what Ash said was all true then Professor Oak was going to have an absolute field day, and Green wouldn't be far behind him. Ash finally stopped his tangent with a sheepish smile and made an offer none of them could refuse. "If you guys want, I can introduce you to some of my rare and mythical Pokémon."

Blue interjected at this point. "We'd love to, but not before we introduce you to the rest of our Pokedex Holders; trust me Ash, they're not going to want to miss this, and I'm sure they'd love you as well... well, once they got used to you. I will say that some of the Dex Holders might not trust you right off the bat." She offered him, and Ash barely even hesitated before accepting her kind offer with an appreciative smile.

"That would be wonderful you guys; the more the merrier. And don't worry, I'm used to dealing with the skepticism of mortals." He murmured, touched by the fathomless depths of human kindness for what seemed the umpteenth time. It was the one thing about their race that could still surprise him without fail even after all he'd seen and done; he wasn't used to being accepted or believed in by others so fast… but for a culture that was pretty much ignorant of all things ZOF-related; maybe it was easier for them than it was his own people who assumed they knew most of what was already out there. Still, he wasn't counting on everyone on this planet being as accepting of him as Yellow, Blue, and Red had been.

Even Zenith Omnidonae that weren't as arrogant as all that seemed awed and intimidated by his presence, but these people seemed to treat him just like an average guy; the fact that he had all these abilities just added character, and that was it. He honestly couldn't wait to meet these other Pokedex holders and had the inescapable and inexplicable feeling that a few of them were going to be more than just friends to him in the not-so-distant future. He knew there would be some bumps in the road to get through with some of the more cynical members of their group, but he was confident he could change their views on him given enough time.

What fools these mortals were for trusting one like him so quickly; he could've literally been lying to them about everything, yet they still chose to believe in him. He was almost glad that certain members of their group were more calculating and careful; they might be able to point out the flaws in Yellow's line of thinking when she chooses to believe in him. Ash was worried that one day she might put her faith in the wrong person, but for now he was content to just hang out here and take a vacation before he continued his travels as Appaneesty IC2.

He could imagine what his life would be like if he wasn't the Creator of all things… including the ZOF itself in its entirety. Not that he was trying to escape his life altogether; he only sought to find someone to share it with. After all this time, had he not earned the right to be blessed with an Eternal Bond Mate by the ESITs who were so hesitant to pass judgement on their creator? He certainly thought so, and the feelings and sensations Yellow stirred within him when he first met her was promising. He was very much looking forward to how this all played out, and he would be damned if he let anyone hurt his new friends. Not for the first time, he wondered if he should abandon his non-interference rule... perhaps with the potential arrival of new and more powerful Supreme Omnidonae he would be able to take a more proactive role in all of this.


	3. Chapter 3: In Ash we do not trust

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything, nor do I make any profit off this whatsoever. On my word of honor as the hopefully future Thomas IC2; I don't sell these stories on the black market and frankly nobody would buy them anyways lol._

Chapter 3: In Ash we do not trust

' _The Creator and one true God of the ZOF Realm and all things… nervous to meet a couple of mortals barely considered adults by their species' standards?! The idea ought to be ludicrous and yet…_ ' Ash paused in the midst of his mental monologue as the idea of meeting the rest of the Dexholders was weighing heavily on his infinite mindscape.

' _Since when have you ever cared what the humans thought of you, or any mortal for that matter?! You've been acting totally different ever since you partook in that last Triple O Tournament and helped deal with that ZIC Crisis! You're so much less cold and detached now… one could almost mistake you as one of the humans you would've brushed off so casually beforehand_.' His Arceus IC2 commented observantly from within the Pocket Totality Ash created for him and his other Pokémon.

' _I've lived an impossibly long life and gone through many different personality alterations from time to time Arceus… I'm trying the gentler approach for the first time in a long while. Besides, I've grown to care for these mortals to some degree. I guess that's why I'm nervous about making a bad First Impression_.' He admitted; a grin on his face upon making a bad pun. Raichu sent him a telepathic smirk… having been returned for the time being and transforming into his Alolan form.

' _Or maybe you're just trying to impress someone in particular… namely a blonde hottie who shall remain nameless_ …" He suggestively remarked, and Ash was surprised to feel his face growing hot as a healthy dose of coloring dusted his cheeks. These feelings of deeper intimacy were unfamiliar to him before he met Yellow… not that he didn't know about them. He knew about every detail of his grand design construction of the T Triple O's on sheer principle… but he had yet to experience that feeling for himself. He couldn't deny that the ZOF Realm had taken on a life of its own however, and even he didn't fully understand how life evolved from the initial spark-lighting in so many unique and endlessly variant ways.

Casual sex on the other hand, was not nearly as unfamiliar to him… especially with places like the Triple O Tournaments that were charged with a sexual atmosphere and full of Zenith Omnidonae with ZOF-enhanced libidos. But the level of tenderness and raw emotion he was starting to feel towards Yellow beyond mere physical attraction… that could only be the signs of what he had waited for so long.

ESIT-Blessed Eternal Bonds were the strongest of all bonds a Zenith Omnidony could experience… allowing them to select an eternal mate for their own through quite literally love-at-first sight-based foundations. What these Eternal Bond Mates had was beyond love, beyond all concepts of Soulmates and even elevated the concept of Eternal Bonds to the same theoretical axioms of infinity as the Zenith Omnidonae Force. This was the Eternal Love system Ash himself had built into the ZOF itself as well as the various ESITs.

Granted, at the time he didn't think much of it, just that it was only fair for his creations to experience the joys of love at least once in their impossibly long lives; being able to share and feel emotions on the infinite side of the spectrum was a must for the Zenith Omnidonae if they were to ever be happy with their own existence… to find meaning and self-worth in their own omnipotence. Fascinatingly enough, love seemed to grant them omni-empowerment like few things could, and the more all-loving the Zenith Omnidony, the greater their power. Once he created the foundations and fundamental forces of the ZOF and the first T Triple O, he was content to let things occur naturally on their own and stay out of his creations' affairs.

' _Until now it seems… but seriously, it's not like I can't resolve any of their conflicts with but the briefest of thoughts. Why interact with your own creations when you're quite literally able to solve all of their problems without any struggle or strife? They needed to learn to stand on their own two feet… but maybe they've done that now. Maybe I can interact with them on a more personal level without them losing that sense of individuality. I really hope I don't regret my decision, or that it's too early for them to meet their maker_.' He stated inwardly.

He thought about the last time he'd tried the gentler approach… so long ago and well before he met any of his Pokémon; back when the ZOF Realm itself was still in a state of infancy. Back then, he'd never had a moment's peace and tended to every need of his creations; whether big or small. It was as he was racing around every which way one day that something occurred to him… he'd never be able to do this forever; even if he had the power to do so he needed something more out of his existence than just tending to them all.

Besides, no matter what he did for them or how much it was never enough… and all they ever wanted was more. It got to the point that entire civilizations were taking his help for granted; that had made him angrier than he ever remembered being. He swore to never again involve himself in the affairs of his creations, be they Zenith Omnidonae, ZOF-Enhanced, or mortals of all shapes, sizes, and species.

' _You mentioned that bit of backstory before… to Moon IC during the ZIC crisis_.' Raichu pointed out as Ash's eyebrow arched.

' _And_ …' He said in a harsh tone, not sure what his starter was trying to say and wanting him to get to the point.

' _I think what my mate is trying to say is there has to be some kind of middle ground… some way for you to attend to their more dire needs without them taking your help for granted or you being constantly on the job without any breaks_.' Omneon whispered in his mind, making the same point Raichu had been about to make himself.

' _Like I said to the girl… it's not as easy as me finding a middle ground you guys. If I help them with the stuff only I can help them with, then I'm going to want to help them with everything else to. Trust me… maintaining my distance is the only choice I have_.' Ash insisted, and his Pokémon shared a collective sigh out of sympathy for their Trainer.

' _Well, whatever happens and whatever you choose to do from here on out; we're with you till the end Ash_.' Omneon promised him as Raichu nodded, and the rest of his Pokémon gave a mighty cheer; countless supportive, reverent voices all resonating in his head and heart. Despite himself, Ash was beyond touched by their eternal loyalty.

"Okay, I've finished messaging all of our friends, and they should be ready to meet you anywhere from within the next couple of hours to late tomorrow evening. In the meantime; how's about we find something to do together to kill some time?" Blue suggested excitedly, chattering along with Red and Yellow while Ash hung back at the rear end of their group, quietly thinking to himself as he nodded absentmindedly in agreement with the beautiful brunette's words.

"I'd be down for some down time; my team and I could use a bit of a break after getting our asses kicked." Red agreed as Yellow agreed; the three of them as thick as thieves as Ash listened to them interact. It was fascinating how easily the mortals of any world could enjoy the simple life; Ash himself had only learned to be content with the simple things in recent eternities… it was as foreign a concept to him at one time as his standard of living was to them.

Still, he couldn't deny there was serious merit to being able to rest; to love, laugh, and live for himself and the Pokémon he adored so completely. After so many lifetimes of being taken for granted by his creations; it was nice to be able to fade into obscurity for a while and simply observe everything. A lax lifestyle was just what he needed to get his head on straight; though he still couldn't help but lend a hand here and there… even if it wasn't necessarily for something big.

"I was thinking I might luxuriate in the Ember Spa over on the Sevii Islands; I've been meaning to take a dip in a hot spring and it's been a long time since I've been there. You guys are welcome to join me there afterwards." Ash couldn't help but announce; surprised when Yellow's eyes lit up at the idea.

"That's a wonderful idea; I've heard those hot springs have all sorts of health-improving nutrients!" She instantly agreed as Red and Blue surreptitiously watched the two of them going back and forth about the benefits of a hot spring and the improvements it could make to one's health.

"We could go there together… if you want. I'll fly you there myself." Ash offered her suddenly, and Yellow nodded excitedly; not bothering to ask whether he'd get one of his Pokémon to fly them or if he'd literally fly her there under his own power. She'd get more excitement out of the whole ordeal if she discovered his method of travel at the time of its revelation.

"Yellow, didn't you buy a new bathing suit recently? This could be the perfect excuse to try it out." Blue suggested with a cheeky wink as Ash looked confused and Yellow blushed the color of crimson red. Blue wasn't technically wrong, but the thought of wearing that risqué bikini in Ash's presence was making her feel extremely embarrassed. She only bought it due to Blue badgering her to buy it when the two of them went shopping together recently, but she never planned to actually wear it. Unfortunately, since Blue brought it up she'd feel silly about explaining to everyone why she bought a bikini when she never intended to wear it in the first place.

Ash could sense the blonde female Trainer was feeling flustered, and decided to help her out a little; not sure what Blue was insinuating but having the distinct feeling Yellow's choice of swimwear was not as modest as she would've liked. He suspected the older brunette had a hand in picking it; maybe even sweet-talking Yellow by reassuring her how hot she looked in it.

"Before we get ahead of ourselves; why don't we just focus on getting to Pallet Town or wherever this meet-and-greet you've arranged for us is taking place for now Blue?" He suggested; reminding them all of the fact that Blue had called everyone over.

"That's right… I almost forgot! Silver and Gold are on their way and should be here in a few hours once they've taken the monorail train between Saffron and Goldenrod. Crys is already there at Professor Oak's lab; she works as his assistant most days and Gold often flies on in to pester her so her work's really backed up, but she said she could use a break from all the paperwork. Sapphire, Ruby, and Emerald can't make it sadly though I was surprised by Dia, Pearl, and Lady Platinum saying they weren't busy and could probably catch a plane in time to make it here by sundown. White is busy with managing Pokestar Studios and Black has become the Unova Champion since being restored from the Light Stone so he doesn't have time either.

Whitley has time but Blake is busy with International Police business; though since she lives all the way in Unova she won't get here until later tomorrow. Kalos is even further still so unless you work some of your magic Ash; you'd be unlikely to convince X and Y to gallivant all the way across the world for just any old reason." Blue finished announcing as Ash gulped somewhat nervously… that was a lot of mortals. He hadn't been around this many humans in a very long time.

"Wow… that's uh… that's practically every Dexholder Blue. You called all of them?!" Ash nervously stammered as Blue giggled playfully; Red smiling at the idea of everyone coming for a visit as Yellow bounced up and down excitedly like a hyperactive kid.

"Well, it's been a while since we all got together; I figured this meet-and-greet would provide the perfect excuse to bring the whole gang over for a visit. The last time we did that was a couple of Christmases ago; so it'd be nice to have everyone over in Pallet Town where it all started." Blue explained as Ash smiled in agreement; feeling a lot less apprehensive now that Blue wasn't going to all this trouble just for him.

"Ooh, I can't wait… everyone getting together like this; it'll be like a great, big family reunion!" Yellow exclaimed with a squeal while continuing to bounce; an action that caused a certain part of her anatomy to spring up and down in tandem with the rest of her body. Ash felt a heated blush coming on despite his literal Will of God; somehow managing to look away despite being drawn to this image of Yellow… which was somehow the embodiment of childlike innocence and sex appeal both at the same time.

"That's a great idea Blue! I've been meaning to catch up with Gold in all honesty. It's always so lively when everyone gets together, and the more the merrier they say." Red chuckled as Blue grinned with pride. She knew her idea to bring everyone together would go over well, and couldn't wait to see what Green thought of it as well. She may have arranged a surprise in the form of a certain redheaded gym leader from Cerulean City; how Green and Misty even got to be friends in recent years was still a bit of a mystery to her, but she wasn't about to question it if it meant a chance to mess with people's love lives. She grew a mischievous smile at the thought.

"So this get-together will be held in Pallet Town then? Where in Pallet Town if I may ask?" Red wondered, and Blue stuck her tongue out at him cheekily while winking.

"Professor Oak's lab will be big enough to meet our requirements." She simply stated, and Red furrowed his eyebrows.

"I doubt either he or Green would be okay with that." He knowingly replied; his eyebrow arching further and further up his forehead as Blue hid her smile behind her hand.

"Oh, it'll be fine; a nice little surprise get-together will do the old man and his grandson some good." Blue reassured him as Yellow started walking slower in an effort to give Red and Blue some space, but also to get closer to Ash who was walking at a leisurely pace at the back end of their group. They were trekking through the edge of Viridian Forest now and were getting closer to town; which meant that they were only an hour or so away from Pallet Town.

"Don't get me wrong; I love both of them to the ends of the Earth… but seeing them have this just-for-fun lover's spat was a bit too much." Yellow whispered to Ash under her breath as he nodded understandingly.

"It's only natural you'd feel that way; if it's any consolation Yellow… there are countless versions of you and Red out there in the infinite web of Multiverses who do end up together and live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives full of love. I guess what I'm trying to say is… nothing is impossible. Keep your chin up, your shoulders back, and your heart open and you'll find someone; love is a funny thing that way… when it's real and true it finds a way around even the most insurmountable obstacles." He sagely whispered back to her in response.

"Thank you… that was a really nice thing for you to say. I guess I just wish I was a version of me who got with Red in the end; you know?" She smiled up at him, and he nodded understandingly once more.

"I totally get it… trust me. I'm honestly surprised you didn't take Blue up on her offer earlier." He chuckled somewhat teasingly, and Yellow giggled at his attempt to lighten the mood even further… it was definitely working.

"I'm surprised by myself honestly; I can't say I wasn't tempted. I guess I just want to keep my options open and not rule out the infinite possibilities. If what you say is true and there are so many versions of me who get with Red; maybe I ought to be the Yellow who breaks that vicious cycle." She snickered at his surprised expression, happy that she managed to pull one over on the living embodiment of omniscient knowledge. He recovered quickly though, and beamed at her in approval.

"You may just end up becoming one of the best versions of yourself because of that; breaking a Multiversal Constant is not always easy, but I'm always around if you need a hand with anything." He offered, and she nodded thankfully.

"I appreciate that." She whispered back to him; blissfully unaware of the fact that Red and Blue had stopped talking and were now listening in on their conversation instead. They continued talking about everything under the sun until they reached Pallet Town, and Ash couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this at ease in the presence of a mortal before.

XXXXX

The rolling foothills and happy, uplifting atmosphere was something Ash always felt was quintessentially Pallet Town. But even more so was the impressive Pokémon laboratory located near the edge of Route 1; standing as a sort of border between human settlement and the wilder world inhabited by these many magnificent creatures.

"Well, here we are… home sweet home." Red declared to everyone as Yellow's eyes shone with a sense of true belonging and Blue simply nodded. This place had that homey feeling to all who came here, and no matter how many times she saw it Yellow always felt at peace here.

"Ah, Pallet Town… for many it is the true starting point of all Pokémon journeys. This place is one of the most iconic in the history of Pokémon itself in its entirety. Honestly, I feel like if I had always been a version of Ash Ketchum right from birth I could've appreciated this place as my own hometown a lot more." Ash IC2 himself chuckled as all the Dexholders looked at him with surprise.

"Wait, Pallet Town was your home?!" Yellow exclaimed in a questioning manner.

"Yes and no Yellow; like Red here and every one of his dimensional duplicates… every version of Ash Ketchum makes their home in a version of Pallet Town almost exactly like this one. In fact, Ash has been a sort of counterpart to nearly every male Dexholder including you Red; he was your counterpart during his journey through Kanto, Gold's counterpart during his Johto Journey, Ruby's in Hoenn, and so on and so forth. But while I am Ash Ketchum's IC2 Counterpart; that is not the entirety of who I am. Like I've said… I've been called many names throughout the ages; assumed many identities. The first name I've ever known myself as was Appaneesty. Becoming the most sovereign, omnipotent version of Ash Ketchum came later… much later." He explained to them as Red's eyebrow rose alarmingly high and Yellow merely gawked at him in fascination; only Blue seemed unaffected by this revelation; though on the inside she was surprised to.

"Fuck, that's weird… so we all have counterparts by different names in some worlds?" The crimson-eyed Trainer stated in a questioning tone as Yellow tilted her head in curiosity; wondering what name her other-world counterpart went by assuming she had one.

"No, not all of you… certain Dexholders like Yellow and Emerald are unique to the Dexholder-based worlds alone." Ash elaborated as Yellow looked disappointed and Blue smirked.

"Looks like you're even more special than I imagined there Amarillo." She quipped, eliciting a blush from the younger, blonder woman as Red shook his head with incredulity. All this talk of alternate worlds was giving him a headache; best to stick with what he knew.

"Anyways, I guess we should head on to Professor Oak's Lab." Yellow suggested as everyone agreed, and like that they were off again; trekking over the rolling foothills at a leisurely place and breathing in the remarkably clean, unpolluted air; a testament of the battle against the Elite Four and Lugia's subsequent revitalization of the Kanto Region.

"Gosh… it's so warm here; I could literally just sleep the afternoon away on one of these hills." Yellow sighed contentedly; having done exactly that on more than one occasion in all honesty.

"Me too." Ash agreed; the both of grinning at one another as Red and Blue watched their interaction.

"Those two are really hitting it off, don't you think?" Blue whispered into Red's ear; who nodded a little uneasily.

"He seems nice and all, but we still don't know that much about him or where he came from. I'm worried that Yellow might be trusting him too much too soon." He whispered back to her.

"Oh Red, you're like a big, overprotective older brother. Just relax, Yellow's definitely not a kid anymore, and she can take care of herself." Blue reassuringly rebutted.

"Yeah, I know, but he's…" Red paused as he tried to think of the best way to describe Ash without insulting him unnecessarily.

"He's what, a literal God in human form? Newsflash Red, the world of Pokémon is crazy; I guess it was only a matter of time before it attracted someone of his caliber. Besides, he seems harmless, and I doubt he'd not have harmed us by now if he hadn't intended to." Blue giggled; finding Red's desire to keep Yellow safe endearing. If things between them continued at this rate; then Yellow would've found her first boyfriend, and the brunette could tell that scared Red to death.

"I know, I know; I just can't help worrying." Red whined in protest as Blue kissed him quickly on the cheek; an action that very quickly silenced him as the two of them hung back and let Yellow and Ash continue to bond. Blue was tempted to meddle; she really was, but she had the feeling those two didn't need her help, and they were hitting it off so quick it honestly surprised her. She was worried to in all honesty; she hoped Yellow didn't fall for him too hard… that would only lead to heartache in the end.

"And… we're here at last; Professor Oak's laboratory. You know, many people consider him to be the world's foremost authority on Pokémon, and many Trainers hold him in high regard. But then again, you guys already knew that… didn't you?" Ash spoke to everyone at large as they reached the door that lead to the esteemed Professor's laboratory.

"No… we don't know a damn thing about him." Red sarcastically remarked as Ash smirked. The IC2 Counterpart stood aside to let Blue knock on the door and wait for the Professor to answer.

"And so it… begins." Ash whispered aloud to himself; his eyes widening when Yellow took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. It was strange… in spite of all his powers and the innumerable souls who owed him an unpayable debt- however unaware they were of that fact- he couldn't help feeling nervous like some anti-social, human teenager at the prospect of meeting new people; especially since this particular group of people were extremely legendary in their own right.

The door opened in front of them and Crystal herself stood there waiting to welcome them with a delicately arched eyebrow. She was currently about 17-years-old with a white lab coat worn over top of her signature outfit from her days back in Johto; albeit one modified to fit her current size and figure. She had long bluish-black hair tied in low bunches behind her ears and a red and white beanie hat on top of her head.

"You got here fast; I haven't even gotten around to bringing the Professor up to speed on your plans Blue." She huffed in a slightly uptight tone; wishing she'd been given more notice for this sudden meet-and-greet. She wasn't terribly surprised though… this was Blue after all. She rolled her eyes when Blue merely smirked at her, and nodded in acknowledgement of both Red and Yellow; the latter of whom smiled and waved at her cheerily. Her gaze settled on Ash last, and he could sense her connecting the dots as she pointed at him while facing Blue; a questioning look on her face as Blue nodded in affirmation. Crystal smiled in a more easy-going manner.

"It's nice to meet you Ash; Blue told me over the phone that you beat Red in battle recently. Not an easy thing to do I'd imagine." She commented conversationally, and Ash nodded sincerely.

"No kidding, Red's a strong opponent; It's nice to meet you to Crystal. I'm assuming Blue gave you a brief synopsis of everything that happened during the last 24-hours." He deduced, and Crystal nodded while stepping aside to grant them entry into the lab. Red smiled and blushed Mareepishly at the praise Ash sent his way. He was touched that the older Trainer meant what he said; even if he personally didn't find Red a strong opponent that didn't mean he wasn't one altogether. He would have to learn not to judge himself by Ash's unnatural and unfair standards as well as Ash himself seemed to, but he was getting better at it little by little as the hours ticked by.

"She told me a bit, but I'd imagine she left some of the important details out so you could tell everyone yourself." Crystal replied as Ash nodded in understanding and flashed Blue an appreciative smile out of the corner of his eyes. She returned it with a wink as Red and Yellow leisurely traipsed with her in the background to let Crystal and Ash talk a bit and get to know one another. Yellow couldn't stop smiling at how Ash and Crystal seemed to be hitting it off pretty good so far.

"Trust me, you're going to be glad she left some of those details out; I'm not really sure how I feel about outing myself to this many people, but trust is a two-way street so I'll do what I have to. Still, what I'm about to tell all of you is crazy by any standards." He told her, and she nodded and flashed him an understanding smile.

"You still have the same basic right to some privacy and relative peace and quiet; I can't tell you the number of times I've had a certain pest getting in my business when I just want to get some work done. Though I can't deny that I could use the reminder to relax every once in a while." Crystal said, and Ash couldn't help but chuckle. He knew exactly which pest Crystal was referring to, but refrained from saying anything about Gold specifically for now lest he spook her a bit with how much he knew about all of them. He could only skate by on the excuse that Blue told him a ton so much after all.

"Oh, I'm sure this pest of yours isn't all that bad Crystal; it has been my experience that any two people with antithetical personalities often bring out the best in each other… they balance one another… kind of like the polarity between light and darkness and pretty much every other conflicting duality in existence. It's a peculiar sort of symbiosis- a dynamic frequently oversaturated with conflict and sometimes even bloodshed- but a symbiotic relationship just the same." He sagely stated as Crystal stared at him in surprised wonderment; deeply considering his words before nodding with a smile.

"Well-spoken and extremely intelligent; wow… I'm impressed Ash, and thank you. While I may not always agree with that idiot's philosophy I can't deny he's able to help me take things easy from time to time." She complimented him as Ash blushed at the praise; aware of the fact that Yellow, Blue, and Red were all smiling at him as well… his words registering deeply within everyone present.

"Thanks." Ash stated simply, and Crystal smiled at him slightly as the five of them made their way into the Professor's study, where the esteemed Samuel Oak himself and his grandson Green were currently engrossed in an ongoing conversation and unaware of the new arrivals.

"Not every day that pesky girl calls out literally every single one of us just to meet one guy; he must be a pretty big deal." Ash heard Green state point blank. The older Oak hummed thoughtfully to himself while postulating a no doubt polished and well-thought-out response to that.

"Blue said they only just met him yesterday, and in that time frame he managed to soundly defeat Red himself; who remains one of the best battlers I've ever seen. I wonder if Blue thinks that qualifies him for the title of a Dexholder or something; though I also wonder where he's been hiding all this time." The esteemed Professor replied; the both of them equally unaware of their audience as Red winced slightly at the casual admittance to his very one-sided battle with Ash. It was only when Crystal cleared her throat suddenly that both members of the Oak family became aware that they were no longer alone, and both of them chuckled in unison.

"Sorry, we didn't mean for you guys to hear any of that; please, come on in." Professor Oak greeted them not unkindly; though Ash could sense his and Green's unsure gaze sweeping over his form… the latter's expression also holding an equal volume of distrust. Ash could understand that; he was still an unknown, an unknown who was strong enough to defeat one of their best battlers with ease; that had to be a bitter pill to swallow considering Green's age-old rivalry with the red-eyed Pokémon battling prodigy.

For some no name, random person to show up and succeed in one try where Green had failed for years had to be grating at him big time; though Ash could also sense he was fiercely protective of his own to and pride be damned… he wouldn't let this stranger harm any of his friends. In the past, Ash wouldn't have cared one bit what a bunch of mere mortals thought of him, but since they were important to Yellow he knew he'd have to play nice if he ever wanted to have any sort of relationship with her. It had been so long since he'd been this emotionally entangled with the mortals of his creation… the all-encompassing ZOF Realm; so having to deal with tiny, petty human misgivings was going to take some getting used to.

' _Isn't that just a bit condescending dude_?' His Raichu telepathed in response to his thoughts; his voice echoing through their shared set of infinite mindscapes from within the pocket dimension Ash created for him and all his other Pokémon to reside in when they weren't doing anything. Since the sheer number of mons he befriended would easily flood the populations of Totalities were he to release them, and create an imbalance of mass and energy across entire Omega Omnispheres at a time; this was a necessity. Granted, releasing them a bit at a time to take turns getting some fresh air or flexing their powers was not out of the question… not at all.

Ash opted to ignore the smart-ass remark from his starter and carry on waiting to be addressed properly; opting to speak to the Oak family members strictly when spoken to. He hated to admit it, but this encounter had him more nervous than he was outwardly displaying; his face and body posture set in a neutral mask of imperturbability.

"Welcome Ash, to my Pokémon laboratory; I believe that introductions are in order. My name is Professor Samuel Oak and this is my grandson Green, and you've already met my head lab assistant Crystal here." The esteemed professor greeted him semi-formally as Ash nodded in acknowledgement of him and Green while smiling at Crystal; an action she quickly mirrored before averting her eyes from him for some reason. Yellow was watching everything really closely from behind him as Ash finally found some words to speak aloud.

"Nice to meet you all… I um, I know all of your names." He awkwardly stammered; cursing his almighty lexicon for forsaking him during such a crucial moment.

Green's response to that was to snort derisively. "So, you did your homework on all of us then; is that it?! No offense, but why should we believe anything you say?! You come from out of nowhere and just happen to have the strength to beat one of our best battlers?! Where were you all those times when the world was in danger? Where was your strength when we all got turned to stone, or when Arceus nearly destroyed the world, or every other time our team could've used your help? Don't take this the wrong way buddy, but you're a little late to the party, and I'd be damned if I let you just think you can waltz in here like you're a contributing member of our team!" He spat with all the cynicism and suspicion he could muster.

Yellow looked ready to jump to his defense, but both Red and Blue stopped her; shaking their heads at her to ensure she kept quiet. Ash took all of three seconds to formulate a reply, and when he spoke his voice was calm and composed. "Your skepticism is completely understandable and reasonable Green. I've been worrying since yesterday when I met her that Yellow might end up putting her faith in the wrong person someday. Honestly, your cautionary measures are much more my speed. I can mitigate even the most hard-boiled skeptics given enough time to validate my sincerity, but such honest and trusting souls as blondie over here behind me is a cause for concern on my part, especially considering my Pokémon and I are powerful enough to beat Red's A-team in battle.

Honestly, none of you have any way of knowing if I'm truly as nice of a guy as you've lead to believe, and frankly… good men don't need rules; so the fact that I have so many myself is very telling. In the face of all that; it is honestly a relief to me that there people within your group who are more willing to tread on the side of caution." He explained to a surprised Green who regarded him more thoughtfully than before.

Yellow was just getting ready to chew him out for calling her gullible when he turned his head one hundred and eighty degrees straight around to cast her a smile, without even having to twist his back or anything else along with it. Yellow's eyes widened along with everyone else's as Ash's neck bent and contorted in a way that would've snapped any mortal's neck in a matter of seconds, killing them instantly.

Crystal was not ashamed to admit she screamed blue bloody murder at the terrifying display, and even Yellow, Red, and Blue looked vastly disturbed despite having known about him for a while now. "Don't take what I said the wrong way shorty. I actually admire your ability to see the innate goodness in everyone, and I honestly wish Green's skepticism was unnecessary, but he's right to be cautious and I encourage you all to be so. I mean, just look at what I'm doing right now; this shit is not normal by you humans' standards and even I know that." Ash grinned manically at her while twisting his head back around to the front side; his gaze once again locked on both Oak's.

"Us humans?" Professor Oak repeated questioningly, looking like he was going to be sick.

"Just what the fuck are you?!" Green demanded with borderline hostility; ready to fight to the death against a possible undead or demonically possessed assailant but relaxing somewhat when Ash's head returned to a proper angle and he grinned cheekily at them while winking.

"Well, I've got your attention now, haven't I? I'll be happy to oblige both of your understandable inquiries at a later time; when all of the Dexholders who were able to make it here are around. I'd rather have it so I only have to explain my infinite complexities to all of you one time." Ash responded. Green looked ready to retort, but Professor Oak held up a hand to stop him.

"That sounds reasonable enough; after what you just demonstrated to us right now, I need to take a minute to process what my eyes just showed me, because that should not be even _remotely_ physically possible." Oak said back to him as Ash nodded completely understandingly. He hated having to demonstrate shit like that, especially in front of people as genuinely open and honest as Yellow, but if it enabled them to tread on the side of caution a bit more than all the better for it. Still, that didn't mean he liked having to scare her, or Crystal, or Blue, but this lesson might just save their lives one day; so he was prepared to dish out some tough love to the mortals of his feed.

"Impossible is pretty much my minimum standard." Ash quipped in a lighthearted manner, a soft expression warming his face as he saw Yellow and the others still looking visibly shaken by what he just did earlier.

"You're… still alive… after…" The blonde, petite girl stammered, looking equal parts terrified of and awed by him as Ash respectfully kept his distance for now.

"I'm okay Yellow, the question is… are you guys? After witnessing something like that; I wouldn't blame you all one bit if you needed some time alone or something to get your heads on straight." Ash soothingly whispered, addressing all of them. He wasn't surprised, nor did he take offense when Crystal closed her eyes and walked straight out of the Professor's main office and closed the door behind her with a quiet snap. His eyes merely conveyed understanding of her plight, something which Blue caught at the last possible second as she managed to more or less get over what she'd just seen now.

"That was one of the freakiest things I've ever seen in my life, and believe me; I've seen a lot of freaky things." The brunette beauty stated, and Ash was about to nod understandingly, but Blue wasn't done.

"But I also know that doesn't automatically make you evil or dangerous, or at least… not dangerous to us anyhow. You've been nothing but decent so far, and I believe if you had really intended any of us harm you would've done it by now. But I also think Green is right to be worried; we don't know much of anything about you, and for all we know you could derive some sick pleasure out of toying with people's feelings and giving them hope only to take it all away from them." She added, appeasing Green before he could even think to call her crazy for trusting a man with such freakish abilities.

Yellow didn't say anything, and was still a little bit freaked out by that head-spinning thing, but she did register Blue's words, and could somewhat better understand where she and Green were coming from. Even despite knowing what Ash was for a while now; what he just did was more than a little disturbing for her. Even still, she always thought it was better to take a leap of faith first and ask questions later; it wasn't just about trusting blindly, it was about showing you weren't afraid to believe in someone else.

She may come across as naïve, but she wasn't stupid, and she was a pretty good judge of character to. Ash just… felt right to her; trusting him felt like the right call, and while she couldn't explain it her instincts had seldom lead her wrong before. Besides, if he did turn out to be someone who took advantage of their trust then she honestly couldn't help feeling sorry for any God whose existence was miserable enough to make them resort to such underhanded tactics.

Ash didn't dare approach her or anyone else right now; content to just stand where he was and wait for them all to calm down slightly. Professor Oak decided that moment to clear his throat, grabbing everyone's attention while doing so. "I think we could all use this time to regain our composure; it's going to be a while before everyone Blue invited to show up and I think I need to take a small nap or something to prepare myself for what's ahead. I'm honestly getting too old for these sorts of things, though I can't deny it's exciting as well. Feel free to spend your time here however you all choose." Oak said with an air of authority about him that even Ash acknowledged, nodding in agreement.

"I think I'm gonna go outside for a bit and do some meditation as well to prepare myself for this upcoming conversation; no doubt this is going to be strenuous for everybody involved and I haven't been around this many humans in a very long time so this is a new experience for me to. If any of you need anything, I'll be out on the rolling hills near the outskirts of Pallet Town soaking up some sunlight and sitting in a classic meditative pose, TTFN." Ash announced; wanting to get the hell out of dodge for now and disappearing in a whirl of speed around Yellow and between Blue and Red before phasing right through the door the Oak's office and out the far wall of the lab before anyone could even register him moving at all. By the time anyone realized he had disappeared, he was already gone for a seeming relativistic eternity of temporal dilation.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

An awkward, tense silent fell over everyone in Professor Oak's office the moment Ash Ketchum vanished from sight; a silence that was broken by none other than Green as he rounded on Yellow, Red, and Blue with fire in his eyes. "You three have some serious explaining to do… so talk." He commanded in an authoritative, eerily calm tone.

Blue and Red both gulped nervously as they tried to think of something to say, but Yellow met his intense gaze unflinchingly and found her voice before they did. "It wasn't their fault Green; I was the one who invited him along with us and decided to trust him. He seems nice, all things considered." The blonde-haired healer responded in a surprisingly resolute tone.

Green's eyes immediately softened slightly upon hearing Yellow speak up; he as well as pretty much all of the other Dexholders having always had a bit of a soft spot for the small girl. "Yellow, I understand you like to make new friends and are always able to keep an open heart; something many of us admire you for, but that man… he's dangerous, and I don't mean that in a good way. You saw what he did just now, that shit is not normal! You need to start being more careful about who you let into your circle of friends." Green reprimanded her in a gentle tone; not wanting her to think he was attacking her, but also wanting her to be more careful.

Yellow's response to that was to glare, a surprisingly unnerving sight on the usually sweet young woman. "You mean I should run every decision I make in my life past all of you guys, don't you?! I don't need you or anyone else babysitting me thank you; I'm 18-years-old now, and even when I was 11 I think I've proven I can handle myself pretty well. So please don't insult me by not giving me my due credit Green; that goes for you two as well Red and Blue. Don't think I can't sense you two silently agreeing with Green behind my back right now." The blonde haired Trainer retaliated in a dangerous tone; not caring for the way Green and the others were overprotecting her.

Her hostile attitude faded into something more painful to look at. "After all this time, have I not earned the right to be trusted to make my own decisions; to take chances with other people outside of our group? It's honestly both painful and insulting that you guys don't seem to trust me with important decisions such as this." She added in a softer, more expressive tone that made Red, Green, Oak, and even Blue feel like assholes; the look on her face and the unshed tears in her golden eyes were like a punch in their guts.

"We do trust you Yellow; it's just that…" Blue started, only for Yellow to overshoot her.

"It's just nothing, you don't need to trust Ash just yet, but I am asking you all too please trust my judgement of Ash's innate character. My intuition has seldom led me astray, and I know that it won't steer me wrong this time either. I'm asking you all to try and be nice to him for now and just follow my lead for once. I've always considered you and the other Dexholders some of my closest friends and family, and I would never ask you for such a huge act of faith if I didn't one hundred percent believe that Ash was a good person. Can you all do that… for me?" Yellow pleaded imploringly, her voice barely above a whisper as the two members of the Oak family and both Red and Blue smiled.

"Of course we can silly; we've all been through way too much together to start mistrusting one another's judgement now. If it's that important to you; then you have my support one hundred percent Yellow." Blue replied without hesitation; the firm resolution of her tone making Yellow's eyes shine and her smile broaden.

Red nodded in agreement with his girlfriend and gave Yellow a thumb up and a playful wink; an action that still made her blush uncontrollably. Green was next as he sighed in defeat. "Damn, you really do play it dirty with emotional low-blows when it comes to something you desperately want, and while this Ash person's abilities and inhumanity may scare me half to death; I trust you to Yellow. Like Blue said, we've been through too much together to do anything else at this point. Still, I really hope you know what you're doing; because it may not only be our world that's at stake this time if you're wrong." Green added his two cents worth while offering Yellow a small but genuine smile.

"You guys…" Yellow whispered in a voice choked up by positive feelings; these people really were the best friends a girl like her could ask for.

Professor Oak cleared his throat, grabbing the blonde healer's undivided attention as he smiled down at her with pride. "When first we met, you practically barged into my office unannounced, made off with Red's Pikachu, and rode off on a Doduo without so much as giving me a lick of context on what you were up to or where you were going. But I trusted you to find Red and save Kanto then and I would be remiss not to trust you now young lady. You've grown into a truly remarkable young woman Yellow and I couldn't be prouder. If you feel this is the right call then who am I to question it? Besides, I have the distinct impression this could be your greatest adventure ever." Oak sagely stated in an insightful tone.

"You guys are the best!" Yellow finally said after pausing to wipe a few tears of joy and relief from her eyes. It wasn't the whole gang, and she had a feeling people like Silver would be even harder to convince still, but even if they didn't necessarily trust Ash they trusted her enough to overlook that initial cynicism.

With the tension in the atmosphere around them somewhat lessoned, Blue shrugged and proceeded to head out of the door to Oak's office. "I'm just going to check on Crys and make sure she's okay," Was all she said before she closed the door behind her with a quiet snap.

Red gave a sigh and stretched his arms over his head. "I'm gonna check in with my mom at home. I'll be back later on you guys; tell Blue where I am for me, would ya?" He informed them as he to stepped outside of Oak's office; leaving Yellow alone with the two members of the Oak family. The blonde turned to beam at both of them appreciatively.

"Thank you for trusting my judgement Green; it was really big of you to put aside your distrust like that." She stated gratefully, and Green nodded briskly while heaving a sigh.

"I really hope you're right about this blondie, for all our sakes. I also hope we don't end up regretting this. And just bear in mind that some of us will be even harder to convince than I was." He responded in a firm but not unfriendly tone, and Yellow nodded.

"I hope so to, and I know. I doubt Silver would even accept the fact that he's truly everything he says he is, and I know that Lack-Two will likely wanna turn him over to the International Police at the very least." Yellow sighed as well, realizing Ash had a ways to go yet before he could win them all over.

Professor Oak decided to get in his two cents worth as well. "No one should have that kind of power Yellow; at least not alone. It violates the very laws of nature and science to think such a being could even exist; not to mention it goes against thousands of years of Arceus-based mythologies and religions that depict him as the one true God of our World. I would strongly recommend caution to you young lady; we still don't have any clue what we're really dealing with here." He stated in a severe tone, and Yellow couldn't help but agree.

"I think I'll go check on him now actually." She said, and both Oaks nodded at this as she checked herself out and ran out the door to the Laboratory to be greeted by the late-morning sun of Kanto. She remembered Ash saying something about finding an unoccupied hill along the outskirts of Pallet Town to meditate on, and decided to start her search there; venturing near the borders that lead to Route 1 with her team of Pokémon fully restored and ready to defend her should any Route 1 dwellers come looking for a fight.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

' _Omninescient Oblivion_.' Ash spoke his name of his meditation technique clearly in his mind once he got settled into a comfortable position atop one of the many nameless hills overlooking Pallet Town from its outskirts. There was a pleasantly gentle air current sweeping free and unencumbered over the countryside, rustling the grass all around him and creating an ambiance of total tranquility and companionable stillness; conditions that were perfect to meet his current needs.

Upon speaking those two words in his mind; Ash was suddenly, wholly enraptured by a blissful state of absolute oblivion and unawareness. An aura of red light illuminated his body as his entire infinite mindscape went completely blank, and his infinite number of brains became temporarily, completely uncomprehending of anything and everything within the ZOF Realm; unable to function beyond their barest quintessential traits and rendering him completely unconscious and dead to the world around him. Everything from his Omni Senses and absolute perception to his extrasensory capabilities was deadened to the point of near nonexistence, and he was completely oblivious to everything going on around him.

All of his concerns and worries just fell away, like a serpent sloughing its skin to reveal the shiny new scales underneath. Ash himself was only instinctually aware of his current state of peace, and of the fact that his powers were climbing exponentially as the red light and his technique continued to bolster his Special Attack and Defense stats, and by extension his entire repertoire of superpowers, by an endlessly infinite margin.

The longer he held this state of boundless freedom and detachment; the more infinitely his powers would continue to ascend. The level of repose he garnered from such a state was not to be denied either; it was like when a mortal fell asleep, only endlessly more rejuvenating and refreshing. He didn't know how long he sat there; no longer aware of time passing or the feeling of the wind on his face. No longer was he aware of any concepts or what his omni senses were telling him; no longer did he know the taste of food or the sound of the wind, or the taste of the rainbows and the rush of colors and noise that so many mortals were bombarded by on a daily basis.

While he wouldn't deny these luxuries were decidedly pleasant and an inevitability at most times, they were also something he could only handle in limited dosages. It gave him a sense of peace to just block it all out and give his senses a rest every once in a while. The fact that he also got to utilize one of his most powerful Stat boosting techniques and increase his already omnipotent powers to new and unprecedented heights was also a huge bonus.

He was subliminally aware of something or someone drawing near his current locale on the hills bordering Pallet Town, his current awareness innumerable layers below his usual threshold of omni-consciousness. He was aware of that someone taking a seat beside him and waiting for him to finish; though he could sense they were feeling something he couldn't identify in his current state… something regarding the red light haloing his entire body. He felt a surprising degree of awareness of this person's close proximity; an oddity in and of itself as he was supposed to be only aware of his surroundings on the most basic, semiconscious level. Something about their existence seemed to draw him out; like he was happy being aware of the noisy worlds beyond his all-encompassing silence so long as this person was around.

"Ash?" Her voice crooned in a natural sing-song, like a chorus of the most transcendent seraphs and the hauntingly beautiful melodies of the Sirens all rolled into one. It was as she spoke to him that he became aware of things like gender and other such common notions of life; which is why he was able to identify her voice as belonging to that of a female. His vacant eyes, which were staring glassily into infinity, opened just as the red light covering his body dissipated and he was bombarded by everything in the ZOF Realm all at once. For a split-second, his infinite brains raced and his hearts palpitated as all of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations of his Godliest of bodies all hit him at once; giving him an oversaturation of momentary sensory overload that would've instantly killed any other being in the known ZOF Realm.

He could hear every star singing and fell the turn of the spiraling T Triple O's in all of their infinite complexity and majesty; he could see the whole of the Time Vortex and every other abstract force and being on the ZOF Realm level. Everything that was, is, would be, could be, what must not, what must, what never could, what never would, and every other conceivable and inconceivable configuration, eventuality, actuality, potentiality, probability, possibility, impossibility, and everything and anything above and beyond all that as well. All of that and more hit him all at once, and for a moment he wished he could've gone back to sleep; until he heard her voice calling out to him again.

He turned his head to the side on his left where her voice originated from, his eyes now far less vacant and his synapses all firing at beyond infinite speeds to process everything he'd been closed off to for what seemed a small, blissful eternity. His eyes rested on the petite blonde woman he remembered as Yellow with renewed clarity; standing at a height of just 4'10" tall and weighing in at 95 pounds… she was indeed the epitome of big things coming in small packages. Ash himself was 6'8" and 255 pounds so the disparity between the two of them was hilarious. Granted, the size difference also had a certain sex appeal as well in his honest opinion; though for the time being he didn't speak this thought aloud. Remembering that she had called his name, he gave her a smile which she mirrored; albeit shyly.

"Hey, something on your mind Yellow?" He greeted kindly, stretching his arms over his head with a contented sigh; feeling refreshed and reinvigorated beyond belief as well as the sensation of power previously unimaginable rushing through his entire body. His Omninescient Oblivion technique was a real boon for both meditation and power-boosting purposes.

Yellow shook her head negatively. "Not really, I just wanted to check up on you and make sure you were okay. I am curious though; what was that you were doing before? You had this red aura and stuff that almost looked like a stat booster of some kind?" She wondered curiously, and Ash smiled obligingly; more than happy to explain. Her concern for him was more touching than he cared to admit.

"That's exactly what it was. I used what is known as a Sovereign Move Variant; a concept I myself came up with and one which the many Zenith Omnidonae of my creation who became Trainers sought to emulate, albeit not on as impressive a scale. Basically, in the world of the ZOF Realm; the increase in power that is granted by normal stat boosting Pokémon boosters, while formidable… is not always enough of a power-up to make any sort of difference in a battle fought by one of my kind.

With Sovereign Move Variants, a member of my Pokémon roster can train to increase the overall base power and effects of their entire move pools to infinite levels proportionate to our Tier. You know that for example, Swords Dance is a 100 percent increase on a Pokémon's base physical attacking power; well, the Sovereign Variant is an increase on the infinite side of the spectrum and one which boosts a Pokémon's attack value by an infinite number of stages… those stages themselves each representing an infinite increase rather than a 50 percent one.

This way, a single Sovereign Stat booster or attacking move can make all the difference even in my kinds of battles, and Pokémon become extremely relevant and even dangerous members of the Zenith Omnidonae race. Not that they aren't already a tricky lot to deal with, but with this they become tricky to deal with even against the best of us.

Another example is the Sovereign Power Trip variant; instead of each stat boost you accumulate increasing its base power by 100 percent… it would be an infinite increase for each stat boost as well, and that's on top of the already infinite stat increases bolstering the damage done by that attack to even more absurdly omnipotent magnitudes." Ash explained both lengthily and slowly so Yellow could properly absorb his words, and when she did her eyes lit up with awe and wonder.

"THAT'S SO COOL! You and your Pokémon are so, so strong! I bet Red would be glad to know you didn't use these Sovereign Moves against him and his team." She giggled as Ash nodded in acknowledgement. Yes, Red would indeed be very glad of that.

"What Sovereign Move were you using by the way?" Yellow asked him curiously; wanting to know more and growing excited by the prospect of incorporating this in her Pokémon's training routines somehow. Maybe she couldn't increase the effectiveness of her team's moves and move effects as infinitely as Ash could, but she might be able to increase the effects of moves like Chuchu's Nasty Plot to +4 or even +6 on the first turn it was used; though whether or not that was possible was difficult to say for certain. No doubt it would take an awful lot of training. She hadn't been this excited in years though; the more she learned about Ash IC2 and his amazing Pokémon the more she wanted to know.

"I used the Sovereign Variant of the move Amnesia to increase my Special Attack and Defense by an endlessly infinite margin; I call it Omninescient Oblivion due to its inherent ability to render me completely unaware of my surroundings and the entirety of the ZOF Realm… albeit temporarily. It's the ultimate technique for both meditation and subtly increasing one's infinite power to even greater heights of infinity… and it's also the equivalent to the ultimate good night's sleep. I feel restored and rejuvenated in ways that no mortal could ever be, and considering the number of you humans I am about to entertain later tonight I knew I was going to need it." He sighed, more loose and relaxed now but still apprehensive as Yellow pouted cutely.

"Oh, don't be like that Ash. You may not immediately hit it off with everyone here, but eventually we'll get along fine. Just wait and see." She said in a knowing tone, and Ash chuckled.

"Yes mam, you do know best after all." He teasingly replied, and she puffed out her chest and smirked at him.

"And don't you forget it mister." She fired back at him, and the two of them eased into a comfortable silence for several moments before Ash decided to break it one last time.

"You know, there are merits to sleeping and recuperating the mortal way as well. It's gonna be a while before everyone gets here; so what say you and I catch up on some Z's as the old saying goes?" Ash suggested, and Yellow's golden eyes shone at the idea as she yawned adorably.

"Wahhhhhhh, that honestly sounds like the best idea I've heard all day. Sleep tight Ash." She drowsily whispered while rubbing her eyes and lying down on the grass as the sun bore down on them. Ash nodded silently in response as he to lie down on his back in the grass; not sleepy in the traditional mortal sense but able to power down and go into sleep mode while making use of a Sovereign Rest, Sleep Talk, and Calm Mind combo. One of his defining principles of life was to make good use of his time; for a being such as he, being able to make use of his countless power-up options even while in a state of total relaxation was an effortless thing… so there was no reason he could think of not to do it.

In fact, he was of the mentality that it could prove useful to him to amass as much power as he could in the future; his encounter with Thomas Currie IC2 from the future had certainly made him realize there was more of his kind out there, and he would need to hone his razor's edge from here on out if he wanted to keep pace with all of the potential competition waiting for him out there.

After all, Thomas/Nate IC2 had completely decimated him in that unofficial match, and would've booted him out of the Triple O Tournament had they been battling formally. With that in mind, he let the effects of the Sovereign Rest overtake him, and so he fell into a deep sleep; the Sovereign Variant of Calm Mind AKA Incomparably Serene Nirvana enveloping his body in the same red glow as before. Both he and Yellow were blissfully unaware of snuggling against one another in their slumbering subconscious; drawn to each other's respective body warmth as though by something beyond the physical and even metaphysical realms.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Hey there, you okay Crys?" Blue found herself asking the younger girl out of concern; knowing that what the infamous Catcher of the Dexholders had just witnessed was not a sight for sore eyes… not even a little bit.

Crystal was currently holed up in her office in a state of shock, trying to wrap her head around what she'd just seen that impossible man do. Blue had obviously decided to invite herself into Crystal's office without permission, in a very classically Blue style. Though, Crystal supposed she would be glad of the company for now. Anyone who wasn't Ash Ketchum was welcome at this point. It wasn't that she hated or detested him, it was simply the fact that she couldn't be around him right now due to what his existence represented to her.

"I've been worse I suppose." The bluenette responded stiffly, and Blue nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, I get it girl; I understood the implications of what Ash was for hours by this point, and even I was a bit disturbed by his… ' _Demonstration_ ', if one can even call it that." Blue agreed with the unspoken parts of Crystal's statement.

"What he just did… that was impossible for a human to do, like something out of a horror film. I've gotta be honest with you Blue; if what he says is true and he really is some sort of God, then I'm way, way out of my depth with this one. What is he even doing here?" Crys inquired in a concerned tone, and Blue shrugged.

"I'm not really certain myself, but he seems particularly taken with Yellow." Blue responded as Crystal's eyes widened even more worriedly.

"And this doesn't raise any alarms for you?!" She demanded in a strained voice, and Blue held her hands up in a placating gesture.

"Of course it does, but I'm not exactly in a position to make demands of him; none of us are. If what he says is true then he truly is answerable to no one Crystal; not to Arceus or any other supposed God. I know that's not exactly an ideal situation for us to be in, but maybe it's best to just entertain him for now and hope he'll get bored of us and leave one day. I won't say this doesn't scare me to death, but Yellow seems to believe in him for some unexplainable reason, and I want to believe we can to, or that we at least have no reason to expect any harm from him. I may not trust him, my nature as a former thief would never allow me the luxury of trusting anyone without question, but I do trust Yellow's judgement, and it's not like we have the power to remove him from our world.

So, the way I figure it, we can fuss and moan about it, or we can just grit our teeth for now and hope he's either a genuinely good guy or if he isn't, that he won't see the merit in picking on our world." Blue explained her reasoning in greater detail as Crystal sighed and rubbed her temples; doing her damndest to calm down. This was quite possibly the biggest thing they ever had to deal with, and the idea of having to entertain a being who could wipe out their whole world with but the briefest of thoughts was terrifying to the poor girl. The worst part is there wasn't a way they could work something against him; not this time… nothing in their world could ever stop him or even catch him off guard for a single millisecond.

"I guess we'll just… have to try and hang in there. But if he starts asking us to do whatever he wants us to do in order for him to spare our world I'm going to flip shit Blue!" Crystal swore with uncharacteristic profanity; one which Blue would've normally teased her about if not for the seriousness of their situation. Since Yellow didn't bother with the little details like this when making a new friend; it fell to them to do whatever it took to protect their world… assuming there was a way to safeguard everything they fought so hard for in the face of such a potential adversary. That said, Blue couldn't help but tease her about something else.

"Hmm, you know, he's quite the looker; I wouldn't be too opposed if he asked me to do something depraved for him." Blue winked at her, trying to lighten the mood a little as Crystal flushed a bright crimson which contrasted sharply with her deep blue hair.

"That's NOT what I meant Blue!" She protested fervently, and Blue's eyebrows were waggling suggestively.

"Then what, pray tell, did you mean I wonder? I've got to say Crys, first the swearing and now this? I can't imagine what your loving boyfriend Gold would think. This is a lot of firsts for you, and I rather like this secretly perverted side of your psyche. Perhaps Ash is merely the mastermind behind the wonderfully lewd nature to one particular Dexholder. Don't be bashful Crystal; let the whole world know just how lusty you really are underneath that stern girl veneer." Blue continued to lay it on thick as steam erupted from Crystal's ears; the 17-year-old rendered a hot and flustered mess at what the older brunette was implicating.

"That wasn't what I… stop twisting my words to fit into your perverted fantasies Blue!" Crystal squeaked, too flustered by the older girl's words to manage anything else beyond that. But she had stopped worrying about Ash now; which was what Blue set out to accomplish in the first place, albeit in an unorthodox manner.

"Whatever you say…" Blue giggled, and with the tension more or less ebbed out of the atmosphere Crys decided to state the inevitable.

"I suppose I should apologize to Ash for just walking out like that. He may be dangerous but he hasn't done anything to warrant me giving him the cold shoulder just yet." She opted, and Blue gave an airy shrug.

"I doubt he really cares all that much Crys, but if it helps clear your conscience then I suppose we can go see him together." Blue suggested as the bluenette nodded in acquiescence and the both of them exited Crystal's office together. Question marks appeared above Crys's head as the absence of a certain crimson-eyed Trainer became overtly obvious.

"Hey, any idea where Red got off to?" She inquired. Blue shrugged.

"Who knows, but I'd wager he's off visiting his mom for a bit." She guessed in response, and Crystal nodded in accordance. That made sense.

"Any idea where we could find Ash?" Crystal asked another question, and Blue nodded.

"He said something about heading up one of the hills bordering town to meditate. If I know Yellow like I think I do; she would've headed up there to check on him by now and make sure he's doing okay. I reckon this is a bit nerve-wracking for Ash as well, to be around so many people whom might assume the worst of him because of his abilities." Blue responded, and Crystal nodded while looking downward slightly; feeling somewhat shameful for doing just that only a couple of minutes ago. The fact that Ash was going to all this trouble of getting to know them all on Yellow's behalf said a lot. He obviously liked her quite a lot to be willing to put up with that; especially since mortal problems and emotions were most likely incomparably more infinitesimal than his own.

Crystal didn't bother to ask where the Oaks were; venturing that the esteemed Professor would likely have retired for an early-afternoon nap while Green went to check on all the Pokémon in the ranch and feed them lunch. She and Blue were already well on their way towards the gentle slopes that resided on the peripheries of Pallet Town; a faint red glow lighting their way to whom they sought as they came across a sight that made Crystal's heart melt and Blue's eyes light up in mischief and delight as she brought out a camera and snapped a picture. She would get a great deal of mileage out of this photograph to tease them with.

Yellow and Ash lay sleeping together at the top of the hill while Ash himself glowed a burning crimson to indicate his continuous stat boosting; the two spooning each other amorously and unconsciously whilst in the midst of a deep sleep. Neither girl could bring themselves to wake the two sleeping cuties up; content instead to let them snooze for now and worry about apologizing to Ash later. Without a word said between the two of them, and while exchanging silent eye-smiles; Blue and Crystal promptly exited the tranquil scenery and returned to the laboratory for now to prepare for the arrival of everyone else. Yellow and Ash were never even aware that they had unanticipated witnesses of their nap together; sleeping the day away and not awakening until hours later.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_24-hours later…_

The next day found one Ash IC2 opening his eyes at the crack of noon; his crimson aura flickering in and out until it finally dissipated and his power-up sequence was complete for the time being. "Heh, talk about a power nap." He chuckled. He was about to get up and check on Yellow when he realized quite tardily that he had apparently spontaneously sprouted a second set of arms.

"Four arms?" He slurred. "FOUR ARMS! Fantastic~!" He added with absolute elation.

He could already imagine what he could do with four arms! He could wave to twice as many people as he could before! He could get dressed and tend to his hair at the same time were he to decide to do so the human way! He could make a ton of money on endorsements as the ' _Human Machamp_!' Why, he could even-

His train of thought made an abrupt U-Turn when he suddenly realized that his brand new set of arms was considerably daintier than his usual pair; with baby-smooth skin and infinitely more delicate bone and molecular structure. Moreover, they appeared to expand a fair bit further back than he himself did. His all-seeing eyes spun backwards around the inside of his head; peering through the endless labyrinth of brains and brain stems inside his skull and out the other side. He followed where the arms lead to and saw that Yellow had snuggled up close to him in the night and had him locked in her fond embrace. He couldn't help but smile despite his mild disappointment.

"Ah, well, that explains that at least… a bloody shame about the arms though." He ruminated with trivial amounts of discontentment… he'd really been looking forward to having an extra set of arms. He shrugged inwardly, oh well.

' _Why not just grow yourself a second set if you're disappointed_?' Raichu IC2 asked him from within his shared infinite mindscape with all his Pokémon.

' _Meh, it's not really the same as growing a second pair spontaneously and with no explanation for it. It subtracts from the wonder of it all, ya know_.' Ash telepathed back to his starter in response; Raichu shrugged mentally and gave an amused laugh at his Trainer's madness and eccentricities. Ash opted to ignore him for now and focus on ensuring he and Yellow arose in time to make it for their meet-and-greet with the other Dexholders.

He inwardly cursed when he ran a synopsis on the time elapsed in non-relativistic terms while the two of them slept. "Hey, um, oh dear… Yellow, do you think you could maybe wake up now. We've been asleep for all day yesterday and all night last night; I cannot believe we were able to sleep on this hill for 24-straight-hours but somehow that is exactly what we did." He rambled, feeling his face burn as Yellow's response was to snuggle closer to him; an action that made him able to feel the swell of her breasts pressing snugly against his back. He could actually feel the hardened buds of her… His face burned even hotter when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra.

"5-more-minutes?" Yellow yawned cutely, still half-asleep as Ash snorted.

"Clichéd response much? Come on sunshine, it's been 24-hours; it's literally noon on the day _after_ we both fell asleep, and I for one would like to get this meet-and-greet with your friends over with." He continued trying to rouse her, but even when conforming to a platitudinous narrative Yellow still managed to make it work with how adorable she was.

When Yellow still expressed no immediate desire to wake up, Ash decided the time had come to break out the heavy artillery. Conjuring a bike horn that said the words ' _squeeze me gently_ ' on it; he did as it instructed and gave it a gentle squeeze. The magnified foghorn sound that emanated from it was such that every glass window in Pallet Town and nearby Viridian alike shattered and the world shook. Ash IC2 cushioned the devastating impact of the concussive blast of sound so that it would only give every single living thing in both Towns a very rude awakening like a lawnmower engine without the muffler, not shatter their eardrums irreparably.

As it was, it was enough to rouse Yellow wide awake so fast her world spun; reducing her to a screaming, panic-stricken wreck as she sat up abruptly from her previous position. She snaked her arms out from around Ash's midsection thoughtlessly; not even aware of their compromising position as her pupils dilated slightly and she looked frantically to and fro for the source of the noise until her eyes fell on Ash. The IC2 Counterpart had an all-too innocent look on his face and had made the incriminating item disappear into the ether in the 2-second timeframe it took for Yellow to react to his little stunt with an obvious start.

"Oh good, you're awake, you might wanna get washed up as you're covered in grass stains and haven't showered the entire time you've been asleep, which was a solid 24-hours incidentally. I trust you'll be along shortly while I'm dealing with a myriad of different reactions from all of your friends. I also gather that Red and his Mom would not be opposed to you borrowing their washer and dryer and utilizing their shower." He said with an air of authority about him as he moved to stand; the blonde Trainer sitting still in a state of shock over what she had just heard as she couldn't help but ask if he heard it to. What the fuck even was that? It sounded like those foghorns used by boats but like a thousand times amplified. Ash decided to fuck with her some more, shrugging nonchalantly before she could even muster enough higher cognition to suspect him.

"No, can't say that I did hear any such sound, and believe me… with my omni senses it's unlikely I wouldn't have heard something. Come along now Amarillo, go get yourself cleaned up and I'll meet you at the Oaks in a half-hour or however long it takes you to get ready. It's been a full day, and I reckon at least some of the Dexholders are waiting on us to wake up and start our days in order to greet them." He started to walk down their hill as he finished speaking, beating a hasty retreat for Professor Oak's lab before she could wake up enough to grow suspicious of him as the instigator of that terrifying sound.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_An hour later…_

It turns out that the amount of time needed for a human woman to deem herself ready to face the day was so impressive that even one of Ash's considerable omniscience could make the mistake of lowballing such a feat. Fortunately, Yellow's hour-long shower and dressing up in clean clothes had been just the right amount of time needed for all of the Dexholders that were coming to show up anyways; so all was well that ends well.

He also suspected that it was partly due to how long a washer and dryer cycle took to clean a simple set of clothes; since he never had any need for such contraptions he had no reason to update his knowledge base on how long it took for things like rinse cycles and spin cycles to finish. He was blissfully unaware of the fact that washers and dryers in the world of Pokémon were a great deal more advanced and faster to get the job done than the ones found on most versions of Earth Prime.

Given that the Pokémon World had some of the more advanced technology out of most Anime-based TV series; it was no surprise that their methods of doing laundry were equally as efficient. Of course, Ash lacked the need for any such method in the first place. He didn't sweat nor did he accumulate body odor as it was called, and his clothes were as durable as he was and impervious to all forms of wear and tear or stink absorption; retaining that off-the-clothes-rack freshness perpetually. So, it was only natural that he didn't know this.

His surprisingly lengthy and in-depth train of thought regarding laundry and morning rituals derailed and caused billions in property damage when he found himself facing the other Dexholders for the first time. All of them were silent and glancing at him with ranging emotions flitting across their faces; many of them expressing things like fear and apprehension which was understandable, distrust and cynicism which was even more understandable, apathy and slight disinterest with people like Platinum Berlitz. Telling a commoner her name was still a difficult prospect for her, but she'd grown past it for the most part. Besides, this man was about as far from a commoner as one could get; assuming everything she'd heard about him held water.

There were other emotions as well; Gold looked like a fanboy ready to geek out at the prospect of anyone who could beat his Senpai Red, Whitley looked genuinely terrified of him. Given that her last encounter with a supposed godlike being had left her and Lack-Two frozen solid at the hands of the legendary Kyurem… she hadn't had the best experience with such beings in the past. Thankfully, Lack-Two had thought ahead and both of them ate a berry specifically designed to counteract freezing; a natural anti-freeze that humans could ingest.

If he hadn't done that they would never have survived that incident, and Whitley still had nightmares about that day and the hell that transpired afterwards as well as they tried to wrest Kyurem free from Ghetsis's control. She'd never seen a God wrapped up in human flesh, but that didn't make her any less scared to be around him.

"Anyone care to tell me what that God awful blaring sound from before was; there's been a city-wide shattering of glass and windows across both Pallet Town and Viridian City." Professor Oak wondered; his eyes falling on Ash knowingly as the IC2 Counterpart retained a perfect poker-face and innocent expression as the professor's inquiry remained largely ignored and the Dexholders all gave him a worthwhile response.

It was Silver however, who had the most fun reaction; he was the inevitable skeptic of the group as he scrutinized Ash with his eyes in a disbelieving manner. "Yeah, no, sorry, I don't buy it." He gruffly stated, and Ash smirked. Finally, someone amongst their group broke the awkward silence hanging over the room, and he had a chance to further elaborate on his infinite intricacies.

"The path to sound credence is through the thick forest of skepticism." He quoted offhandedly, and Silver narrowed his eyes. Platinum decided to be the voice of reason on both sides.

"Perhaps if Ash here were to um… what was that phrase again, show rather than tell? I reckon seeing is believing in most cases; wouldn't you agree with me Ash?" She asked him in a not unfriendly tone, and Ash nodded at her sound reasoning.

"Alright then, what would you guys have me do? I'm as far from being a one trick Ponyta as you can get so I'll show you guys anything you want; oh, except being a mime… I can't stand mimes unless they're my Mister Mime. He's a class act and funny-as-hell because he breaks the norm for his species and actually talks, albeit at the most random and inopportune times… like this one time when we were in a restaurant establishment for both Pokémon and human customers one time. Just as some of the rich and proper snobs were preparing to chow down; my Mister Mime starts swearing like a sailor right out of the blue and sounding like a pirate while doing so." Ash blithered idiotically as several of the Dexholders sweat-dropped at his obvious insanity.

"Dude, Mister Mime don't talk… like ever." Gold couldn't help supplying, but if that dissuaded Ash of the notion he didn't show it.

"Indeed, Pokémon researchers of today are still unable to properly decode how Mister Mimes communicate; whatever telepathic wavelength they use for communication… it is undetectable by modern science's instruments and human ears and only other Pokémon have ever shown the ability to understand it." Platinum supplied oh so helpfully; calling upon her impressive reserves of knowledge honed from a combination of reading countless books throughout her life and actual experience on the field.

"Well, mine can, I'll show you all one time, but he's a funny guy and likes to make a liar out of me so don't be too surprised if he's feeling contrary when I introduce you all." Ash stubbornly insisted. Gold snorted amusedly while muttering something along the lines of ' _likely story_ ' while Yellow giggled, and even Platinum found herself amused by his tale of the talking Mister Mime.

Silver however, was not amused, and Green snickered in the background as he and Professor Oak spent the last day coming up with ways to possibly put a hole in Ash's story. "I still am not buying it by the way. You say you're some sort of deified man, I say where's the proof?" He demanded, and Ash surprised everyone present by narrowing his eyes dangerously at the redhead.

"You seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am required to prove _anything_ to any of you, which I am not." He hissed somewhat menacingly, only to wince slightly when Yellow spoke up.

"Ash…" She said in a warning tone, and Ash's hostility evaporated immediately as he sighed in defeat.

"Fine, fine… as stated before, I am not a one trick Ponyta and am willing to demonstrate as Platinum so eloquently put it." He compromised resignedly, and Gold gave an appreciative whistle.

"Damn, straw hat girl's got his ass whipped." He commented as Yellow sighed while shaking her head with exasperation; having expected such a comment from Gold as Crystal elbowed him in the ribs, forcing him to his knees and making him wheeze. Ash himself was glaring daggers at the 17-year-old Hatcher; not overly fond of the implications he just made but biting his tongue before he could make a nasty retort. This was important to Yellow, and if he wanted to have a relationship with her he'd need to play nice.

Silver pondered Ash's offer, and was just about to suggest something when Green piped up instead. "Before you have him do anything half-baked Silver, gramps and I were talking last night and I think we actually came up with something that can put this whole debate to rest." The older Dexholder suggested, and the redhead arched an eyebrow; evidently intrigued as Green turned his attention to Ash with a cocky smirk on his face.

"I want you to conjure an object that's so heavy even you can't pick it up." He said, and everybody seemed to find that an odd request, but Ash IC2's eyes lit up with fond remembrance.

"Ooh, the omnipotence paradox; I haven't done that one in years." He said with a maddening grin as question marks appeared above everyone present except for him, the two Oak family members, and unsurprisingly Platinum.

"Um, okay, does anyone wanna simplify the geek-speak for the rest of us dummy-heads?" Gold requested. Green was about to answer him but the bluenette beat him to it; feeling compelled to do so due to her reputation as ' _the Understander_ ' and one with an encyclopedic knowledge base.

"It's like this self-contradictory state of affairs; because whether Ash is able to create an object too heavy for him to lift or not… there is something he cannot do no matter what scenario plays out; thus creating a paradox loop which should invalidate his supposed supremacy." She explained, and Gold mouthed the word ' _oh_ ' soundlessly, clearly still not getting it.

"You got it right in one there Lady Berlitz; I couldn't have said it better myself." Ash praised her as she smiled at the compliment.

"The fact that you're so calm despite the problems presented by this paradox is very telling; I take it you've heard of it before." She said back to him in response as he nodded.

"Thousands of times." He avowed, and he meant it quite literally as well as Platinum nodded. She had a feeling she was about to be in for a really illuminating state of affairs.

"If that's the case, then you should have no problem debunking it, but as Platinum stated before seeing is believing Ash." Green smirked.

Yellow pouted in her usual adorable manner. "Guys, come on, be nice." She huffed, but to her surprise Ash winked cheekily at her.

"No need to worry about it Yellow. I'm actually glad Green and the Professor had the forethought to prepare this paradox for me; as it's been quite a long time since I last debunked it." Ash responded in a civil tone; one which the blonde woman smiled at as Silver also smirked.

"I'm a fan of this idea; alright then smart-ass… put your money where your mouth is." He snarkily stated, and Ash nodded. A split-second later, and a block of solid black mass appeared on the floor beside him; eyes widening all around as they witnessed the blatant feat of conjuration happening before their very eyes. Gold whistled once again, and some of the Dexholders actually reared backwards with shock at what they just witnessed.

Everyone then moved as a unit to get a closer look at the thing that Ash just made appear; all of them somehow able to feel the barely restrained gravitational force emitted by the hunk of dark matter or whatever this was standing on the floor in front of them. "What is it exactly… like, what's it made of?" Professor Oak couldn't help but wonder curiously; ever the scientist as Ash couldn't help but chuckle.

"The closest approximation your people have for it is dwarf star matter, but the scaling of this is much, much heavier by comparison. The matter contained therein is the same density as a black hole of uncountably infinite solar masses; one endlessly larger than the universal singularity that will recollapse your reality to a state of infinite density in about 100-trillion-years-time. In fact, this block is comprised of matter as infinitely dense as the Event Horizon of a collapsing ZOF Realm… which is the largest dimensional tier of Reality I ever constructed." Ash stated proudly. His lighting of the ZOF Realm's first spark was undoubtedly his crowning achievement, and one of the few things he took pride in.

"Alright, alright, enough of the technobabble; just hurry up and lift it already!" Gold griped as Ash smirked.

"Aren't any of you going to at least try to lift it yourselves; to give a second opinion so as to validate that it's as heavy as I said it is?" He asked everyone as a whole, and Silver shrugged before walking over and pulling up his sleeves. The second he bent down to try and pick it up, his eyes bugged out of his skull as its sheer mass almost seemed to overtake his entire self with just its mere presence. He backed away from it slowly; feeling unnerved by the sheer mass it literally radiated just by existing… his skepticism slightly allayed for the time being as Ash indicated everyone else.

"Alright Machamp, come on out and see if you can lift this block." Green commanded as he threw his Pokeball onto the ground and the four-armed fighting-type materialized in an orb of white light that burst from the opened, iconic white and red orb. It was a good thing that Professor Oak's office was built to accommodate lots of people; because all of the Dexholders present plus Green's Machamp were proving to be quite the crowd. Machamp looked at the object questioningly before looking at Green for affirmation while pointing at it; his Trainer nodding as the musclebound behemoth approached the mysterious object.

It should be noted that Pokémon had much more acute senses than most people, and Machamp was instantly aware that this block did not belong in the world of Pokémon. In fact, he was extremely unnerved by the prospect of trying to lift it, but steeled himself up for the challenge and grabbed hold of it with all four of his arms… heaving with every last ounce of his might. He was a level 100 member of his species and thus strong enough to easily punch a person into orbit, but even his titanic strength met its match against the immovable object as he heaved, tugged, and pulled for 5-minutes straight, to no avail before he finally gave up and looked at his Trainer in defeat.

This shocked every Dexholder present as well as Professor Oak; who knew full well how strong Green's Machamp was. His lifting strength was insane, allowing him to easily bench-press a 231-feet long train car filled to its 1000 ton load limit with just two of his arms. So the fact that he couldn't lift this block was very, very telling. Machamp looked just as shocked as his Trainer by this; having never come across any manmade apparatus he couldn't lift before.

"Poli, come on out and have a go at it, will ya?" Red called out as he released his signature Pokémon besides Pika. The Dexholders all decided to help out and work together to persevere as it became a sort of game to them. Yellow released Golosk who likewise failed to move the object after Poli tried and failed for even longer than Machamp did. Next was Dia who stepped forward along with Pearl; the both of them having been silent this whole time until now.

"Alright you guys stand back; I'm letting out Ghee." He stated, and Platinum smiled at him.

"Talk about breaking out the big guns." She said; getting swept up in the fun as well before Professor Oak got everyone's attention.

"Are you crazy?! We're already cramped for space now, but Ghee is way too big. I'm sorry Dia, but that's not a good idea; at least not in here." He reasonably stated, but unfortunately for him Ash grew a manic smile as the entire room started to expand as the walls stretched in all directions at his command; giving that springy sound effect often seen in cartoons while doing so. Everyone's eyes widened at this and turned to Ash as a unit; encouraging him to wink cheekily.

"What? It's just some interior dimensional expansion… no biggie." He trolled, and Yellow grew an excited smile as everyone else was equally amazed by this.

"He's done something like this before; back when he and I battled… there was this terrain that enveloped us out of nowhere, and it seemed to go on forever. It also had the ability to suppress battle damage so that he and his Pokémon didn't accidentally injure mine." Red announced to everyone as Blue and Yellow both nodded in accordance with this. Even Silver was finding it difficult to remain the hardboiled skeptic after an explanation like that.

"Wow, okay, you have to admit Silver; that is some pretty freaky-deaky shit." Gold stated in a gobsmacked tone; his sentiments shared by everyone in the room as Crystal nodded in agreement and Silver huffed.

"If you ask me, his victory over Red is meaningless; especially if he speaks the truth." Silver rebutted, and Gold shrugged while Ash didn't say anything, wanting to get this demonstration over with.

Professor Oak merely shook his head at the absurdities taking place; giving Dia the go ahead. "I don't even have words anymore; I'm getting way too old for this." He murmured as Dia grew a manic smile, one which was shared by Ash and Platinum.

"If there's any Pokémon that can possess near infinite physical strength; it's the legendary golem who possesses the power to toe continents with ropes." Ash smiled, before he added something that he knew would make Diamond's head spin. "Hey, did ya know that Regigigas actually has a Primal Reversion?" He grinned at him as Dia rounded on him with wide eyes.

"You're shitting me dude." He said once he recovered from his shock, but Ash shook his head; a completely serious look on his face.

"I'm really not, I'll even show you what my own Primal Regigigas can do, and trust me when I say that none of that Slow Start bullshit will be a problem for him. Hell, if you're nice I'll even give you the means to revert your own Regigigas. He, much like many other legendary Pokémon; were far more powerful during ancient times." Ash replied as Dia's eyes lit up and Platinum and the other Dexholders and Pokémon cheered both him and Ghee on as the massive, hulking Regigigas bent over and made to move the object.

Everyone stood back and watched as it started. "Let's all agree here that if Ghee can't move it, then it's as heavy as Ash claims it is." Platinum suggested, and for once nobody protested it as the great behemoth appeared to actually be struggling. Everyone watched with baited breath except for Ash who knew what the outcome of all this would be as the golem's braille eyes pulsed with rapidly flickering lights; indicating its stunned surprise.

"I don't believe this; Ghee can't move it either!" Pearl exclaimed, obviously stunned as Dia shook his head.

"It's not over just yet Pearl; Ghee's Slow Start is still in effect and will need at least 5 minutes to lift from him fully… he's not in it 100 percent yet." He said while munching on what appeared to be a jelly donut.

"Still, it's a fully trained member of its species; it would have strength enough to toe the continents of the world even before Slow Start was deactivated." Platinum pointed out, and Dia's shoulders sagged slightly; not wanting to admit it but she was right.

As if on cue, Ghee began to glow with a burning white aura as it suddenly got back into the fray with new vigor; pushing and pulling on the block with all of its currently unhindered strength, and for five agonizing minutes the entire group held their breath and watched the block like hawks for any sign of movement on its part. After five full minutes of zero movement from the object; Regigigas finally called it quits and stepped away from it… confusion bombarding its mind at the thought of coming across anything it couldn't move. Staring at the object; it to felt a sense of unease while looking at it… like it didn't belong here, like it was forbidden. It made Ghee want to run and hide for reasons the golem couldn't identify.

"Un-freaking-believable." Gold said in an awestruck tone; his words perfectly summing up everyone's thoughts on the matter as Dia sighed in defeat and returned the most physically overpowered Pokémon amongst every one of the Dexholders' respective rosters. Ash IC2 himself was wearing a self-satisfied grin on his face which Green found rather irritating.

"I can't believe how heavy that thing is!" Whitley gasped in spite of her abject terror of Ash, and Dia and Pearl both nodded as one while Platinum smiled.

"Well, that definitely proves it's heavier than all the continents of the world at least. Unfortunately, that's about as heavy as we all can validate when it comes to testing the weight of this thing. The question however, lies in how much heavier your object is than the weight of the supercontinents of the prehistoric past? I am willing to believe it is as heavy as you say it is Ash." The Berlitz heiress smiled at him as Ash nodded appreciatively. At least she was educated enough to acknowledge that she didn't know anything truly.

Dia returned Ghee, turning to Ash with a questioning look on his face. "Do you eat?" He suddenly asked him. Ash quirked an eyebrow at this, having been asked that question many times before but not really in this context so often.

"Does that mean you believe me?" He asked him, and Dia shrugged.

"Look man, I just saw you conjure some big hunk of space rock that even Ghee couldn't lift; so I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the moment. Still, if I am to believe you're a God; I'm honestly curious as to whether or not you eat." He said, and Ash chuckled before nodding.

"I don't have a natural hunger response unless I will it, but yes… I have picked up many different habits from the various mortal species across time and space. Eating is almost always a pleasure in my case though and never a necessity; it's something I do for the taste and not because I require sustenance." He explained as Dia nodded; asking the next question that was weighing on his mind.

"When you do eat; are you able to get a full stomach feeling, or is your stomach itself a black hole? You said you don't have a hunger response, but are you able to feel full ever?" Dia continued to question him; once again prompting a chuckle from Ash.

"My CCK levels are within normal human parameters actually; meaning I can get that full feeling out of the same volume of food as a regular human, though I can also metabolize food with infinite caloric value without any effort at all. My stomach's physical storage capacity is no greater than a human's; though endlessly more durable and able to metabolize and ingest literally anything. My stomach is lined with inhumanly resilient elements that allow for my infinitely broader pallet.

Granted, that's probably one of my only vital organs that is even remotely human in design; not to mention the fact that my pancreas never gives out and always gives enough insulin to absorb an infinite amount of glucose if need be, and has an infinite number of backup pancreases on reserve in case the first one should ever fail for some reason." Ash explained as Dia's eyes widened; obviously understanding most of what Ash said due to his expertise on all things food and digestion-related. The only other person present who seemed to follow what he said was Platinum herself, and that was only due to years of listening to Dia's rambles about food and her own broad pallet for all fields of knowledge.

"That's anatomically impossible!" Platinum and Dia both said in sync, and Ash smiled like a mailman after delivering the post to a couple.

"I am the impossible; imagine my interior having the same dimensional expansion as Oak's office here, but on an infinitely grander scale." He explained as Dia nodded slowly; still whirling from the implications as everyone returned their attention to the immovable block that stood between Ash and his credence as an omnipotent being.

"Do keep in mind that I designed this thing to be completely immovable to my current self at my current level of immensity, but bear witness you guys; for I'm about the debunk the omnipotence paradox as only I or one of my Zenith Omnidonae could." Ash theatrically stated as Silver ushered him on impatiently and everyone else looked on in anticipation.

Manifesting the same crimson aura Yellow had seen him using when meditating the previous day; everyone was briefly surprised when Ash used the Swords Dance technique to shore up his attack stat. Before Professor Oak could ask about that, Ash IC2 beat him to it. "A certain level of a Pokémon's physical strength is associated with their offensive prowess; it stands to reason that Swords Dance is an intensification to both attack power and raw physical strength." He explained; answering the Professor's unasked question before he could voice it aloud as Green stood forward with anticipation as well.

With his physical and attack strength multiplied by an incalculable set of infinite stages; Ash bent over and plucked the block of black hole matter off the ground in the palm of his hand like it was effortless… making both Green and Silver pale at the implications. "But… that's a contradiction; you can't pick something up that's so heavy that you can't lift it! That doesn't make any sense!" Green exclaimed in abject awe; unable to believe what he was seeing as Ash grinned dangerously at him.

"Green, and Silver to… I. AM. OMNIPOTENT! I can do… whatever the hell I like without justification." He said in a tone that brokered no arguments; his voice carrying a weight to it that equaled the impossible object in his hand as everyone heeded the gravity of his words. Silver couldn't help but comment on something anyways.

"How do we know you didn't reduce its weight the second you picked it up?" He asked, trying to retain some level of skepticism as Ash grew a demonic smile and mimed throwing it at him. Silver took evasive actions immediately and hit the floor so fast that even the IC2 Counterpart was impressed. Gold laughed his ass off at the display as Ash stepped over to the stubborn redhead.

"Next time you ask me something like that; I will not hesitate to throw it your way for real." He threatened, and Silver nodded briskly as Yellow glared at Ash in disapproval. Sensing her distaste for his practical joke; Ash offered her an easy-going, reassuring smile even while Silver tried to calm his panic-spiked heart.

"Don't worry Yellow, I was only kidding around. I wouldn't actually throw it at him." He innocently stated.

"Still, it's mean to make jokes like that Ash." She responded, and Ash raised his hands in a placating manner while muttering half-hearted apologies to Silver. The redhead glared back at him impotently from his position on the floor; not at all reassured by his assessment to Yellow or his fake apology. This man was basically a psychopath, and Silver's skepticism may have been allayed but his cynicism wasn't. Still, Ash considered this a small victory of sorts, and now that the demonstrations were out of the way all of the Dexholders were much more excited to interact with him while asking all kinds of questions of Red, Blue, and Yellow who answered as best they could with what they knew.

"So, you really have a Primal Regigigas?" Dia asked him in pure fascination as Ash nodded without hesitation.

"Come outside with me and I'll show you right now if you want." He promised, and Dia shook his head.

"Nah, it's cool man, I believe ya. I'm not exactly in a position to play the disbelief card since I've got a Regigigas of my own. I still can't believe you were able to lift that thing when even Ghee couldn't. That's so cool!" He exclaimed merrily. Platinum and Pearl came over to greet them as well after interrogating Yellow about a photo Blue showed them earlier; one which Ash noticed had the blonde Trainer blushing up a storm when she got a good look at it. Ash would have to ask her about that later; though he suspected she was embarrassed by the fact that they spooned one another the previous night.

"What about Dialga and Palkia? Can they do Primal Reversion? I know Groudon and Kyogre can, and Rayquaza can Mega Evolve, but what about good old Sinnoh?" Pearl asked him as Ash nodded with a smile.

"Yeah they can, or at least my own Dialga and Palkia can. Giratina is also the original Mega Evolved Pokémon, and mine can even undergo Supreme Evolution; which is a custom-form of Mega Evolution that I invented way back when Pokémon was still a new concept in the ZOF Realm." Ash responded as Pearl grew excited by the prospect, and Platinum shook her head at the ludicrous notion of him having the Creation Trio on his roster.

"Supreme Evolution sounds interesting? Don't you think you kind of had an unfair advantage over Red though?" Pearl asked him as Ash nodded.

"Of course I did, that was part of what I was trying to demonstrate when I battled him; well, that and allaying his skepticism even if only a little bit." The IC2 Counterpart explained to him as Pearl nodded uncertainly; still not sure about the guy and more than a little wigged out by him.

"What made you decide to become a Pokémon Trainer?" Platinum found herself wondering; taking note of the fact that he said he'd been around when the very concept of their universe itself was a new thing. That was one helluva big pill to swallow; the idea that he could've been around when Pokémon in its entirety was literally little more than a passing thought or dream was insane, but she muscled through it for now and suspended her disbelief.

"That's a bit of a long story to be honest, but I guess you could say I got swept away in the craze. While I am responsible for the ZOF Realm on some level; what I don't tell most people is that I merely lit the first spark as it were and laid the basest foundations. My creation took on a life of its own; in a myriad of ways that even I could never have anticipated. When the concept of Pokémon first came around; I was just… hooked, line and sinker. There isn't really another way for me to put it Lady Berlitz." He responded, and the bluenette smiled before she grew a more serious look.

"Call me Platinum, and don't take this the wrong way, but why become a Trainer at all? It sounds to me like you and your Mons wouldn't have struggled in any of the same ways that mortal Trainers and their teams do. Did you ever have to train your way up by starting from zero, like what was you and your Pokémon's starting point? Also, did you catch your Pokémon on your own in the wild, or did you literally just conjure them out of thin air?" She asked him intelligently, and Ash sighed.

"Believe it or not every Pokémon I have was captured, not created. And yes, we started from zero and I helped them work their way up to my level. Well, technically, I trained them as regular Pokémon initially and then they all decided to become like me. I couldn't have asked for greater loyalty, though some of my team members took some more convincing than others did, and there was... one Pokémon I had and deeply cared for who I had to bury once their mortal lifetime was expended, but I was able to respect their decision to remain as they were. But no, none of my Pokémon were conjured nor did they start out as IC2 tier members of their species.

I spent decades catching and Training them the old fashioned way; getting the most I could get out of their Training in non-Zenith Omnidonae terms. Believe me, they were some of the most well trained Pokémon even before I enhanced them with the powers of the ZOF Realm." Ash told her as Platinum's eyebrows rose; evidently impressed by this as Pearl and Dia both felt their respect for him grow in those moments, if only a little bit at least. The fact he was willing to let one of his Pokémon live and die as what it was, it was heart-warming; though none of them dared ask what type of Pokémon it was.

"What made you want to create this ZOF Realm anyways? Was there anything that existed before it?" Platinum asked him.

"Curiosity compelled me to do so by pure instinct, and I don't really know. I honestly only existed in the stillness of the Forever Never Ever Gap predating creation for a short while before I lit the first sparks of the ZOF and set its creation and infinite expansion/inflation in motion. Of course, a short while in Forever Never Ever Gap terms is impossibly long or short depending; the laws, mechanics, and conceptualizations of time as it exists in the ZOF Realm in all forms didn't exist back then… nothing did.

I honestly wouldn't be able to explain the Forever Never Ever Gap in a way that you or anyone else would have a reference frame for. Even the mightiest of my creations; the Omni IC ZOF Masters, are unable to reside in the space beyond the ZOF Realm. Only I can do that; well, I and my Pokémon now, and whoever I make like me in the future." He admitted, and Platinum smiled; still not quite sure what to make of all this but more prone to believing Ash with how quick he was to anticipate and respond to all of their questions, and the sheer breadth of the explanations he gave her. Only someone who had actually lived such a life could be so meticulously and instinctually prepared for every question thrown his way.

The crowd of Dexholders and their ongoing conversations went on well into the late evening, and as Ash socialized to the point that he would've felt exhausted were he a normal human; a lot of the Dexholders hadn't come over to talk with him personally due to still being cautious of his presence, instead getting the story from Red, Blue, and Yellow. Whitley looked downright terrified of him and would start to shake and tremble uncontrollably whenever he got within 10-feet of her; shivering almost as though rendered frozen by his presence. Silver and Green were still extraordinarily wary of him, and the former was downright hostile and mistrustful ever since Ash's admittedly cruel joke from before. He made a mental note to apologize properly for it later on, and surreptitiously caught Yellow's eyes as something bordering on metaphysical understanding seemed to dawn on her face.

He'd had enough socializing for now and was feeling a bit overwhelmed; so she nodded without having to ask what was up with him and hastily followed him out the door to Oak's office. The Dexholders were equal parts enraptured and horrified by the story Blue and Red told them about the battle between him and Ash; so they failed to notice or simply didn't care when Ash and Yellow slipped out the door. Ash was all too happy now that it was just him and Yellow, and the two of them would spend the entire rest of the night chatting underneath the pale moon while Ash conjured them a picnic supper for their long overdue meal. He may not have required food but Yellow sure did for now; which she demonstrated with a low rumbling of her tummy.

If he got his wish however, her need for sustenance wouldn't stick around for long. He hoped he could one day bind her to him forever more, but for now was content to just spend time with her as what they were. He wasn't entirely surprised that so many of the Dexholders were either terrified of or downright hostile towards him. That encounter went about the way he expected, but at least outside with Yellow he didn't have to worry about that for the time being. Living in the here and now had never felt so wonderful, and with Yellow he felt like he could truly be himself without her judging him, disbelieving him, or worst of all… only valuing him for his power, like a certain other blonde beauty from long, long ago.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

As Ash IC2 and Yellow from the Pokémon Adventures Manga Universe talked for all hours into the night; an infinitely removed sector of the ZOF Realm saw something else happening altogether. Within the ZOF's own ever-expanding accumulative of omnipotent energy and power; a lone figure stood on whatever qualified as a surface within this Meta-Infinite-Dimensional vortex of unlimited colors, their features masked and silhouetted by a black hood and cloak.

Their unnerving, rattling breaths produced a purple miasma of condensation that somehow was able to feed off of the surrounding, ambient ZOF Energy like a manifesting cancer. The streams and jets of swirling, spiraling energy and lightning began to move away from the unknown creature as it fed on everything surrounding it with insatiable hunger. In all its endless time since its creation; the ZOF Realm knew only one fear within its own entirety… the wrath of its creator Ash AKA Appaneesty IC2.

He was the only thing it answered to collectively, wholly, and without question or disloyalty of any kind. Not even its mightiest Omni IC Masters had that luxury; neither could they tame it to the same degree. And yet, this creature seemed to provoke the same type of fear within it on a basic, instinctual level. Never before within the entirety of its own infinite personal history- which was the whole of any and every history in and of itself- had it felt such an all-encompassing fear and threat to its survival. Never before had it felt a sense of self-preservation, until now.

The creature, which had remained silent save for its soul-chilling breaths finally spoke, and when it did its words were an echoic overlay of infinite voices both human and not, countless sets of any and every animal species all neighing, hissing, trumpeting, growling, rasping etc. over each other. " _ **This is the beginning of the end Ash Ketchum IC2, and I can't wait to watch you burn in the everlasting hellfire of a thousand ZOF Realms. How would you feel I wonder, knowing that everything you built will be laid to waste? I can't wait to find out, fueled as I am by my singular hatred FOR YOU! You trapped me, condemned me to an eternity of hell; now welcome to yours**_."


End file.
